Marks & Spencer bosses earned more than £4m each last year after their turnaround sparked the biggest payday in more than a decade.
Chief executive Stuart Machin, who led the High Street retailer’s recovery and return to the FTSE 100, received £4.7m.
Its co-chief executive Katie Bickerstaffe, who will resign next month, was paid £4.4m despite working four days a week.
Machin’s payday was the biggest for an M&S boss since Marc Bolland earned £6m in 2010-11.
Both Machin and Bickerstaffe earned £2 million more than the previous year.
Windfall payments: M&S chief executive Stuart Machin, left, received £4.7m, while co-chief executive Katie Bickerstaffe, right, received £4.4m despite working a four day week.
The share value has more than doubled since the pair took over in May 2022. Hailing a “successful turnaround” after years of stagnation, M&S chairman Archie Norman insisted “we are in the foothills of what we can achieve.
In the group’s annual report, he praised the outgoing Bickerstaffe for having “brought a bolt of electricity to our proceedings.”
Norman received £652,000 last year, 3 per cent more than the previous year. He has been president since 2017 and is nearing the end of the typical nine-year term.
Machin supplemented his £908,000 salary and pension contributions with £3.8 million in bonuses and share awards, much of which is deferred.
He began his retail career aged 16 at Sainsbury’s in Kent, stacking shelves for £3.80 an hour.
From July, his annual salary will rise by 3 per cent to £848,720.
After years of its fashion lines being derided as “disgusting”, M&S has managed to attract new, younger shoppers thanks in part to star-studded partnerships with actresses such as Sienna Miller and Hannah Waddingham.
A revitalized grocery line means it is hot on the heels of Middle England rival Waitrose.
In the clearest sign yet that its turnaround is bearing fruit, it said last month that profits rose 58 per cent to £716 million in the year to the end of March.
In the annual report, Machin said “the financial health of the business is as strong as it has been in decades.” And he continued: “We have a clear plan, a clear vision for the future and we have many opportunities ahead of us.”
An M&S spokesperson said: “M&S achieved strong performance, attracted a million more customers, increased sales, market share and profits, invested in the largest ever pay award for our store colleagues and paid a dividend to shareholders for the first time in four years. .
“As far as Stuart’s salary is concerned, he received £1.69 million this year and the remainder is a deferred variable payment which is subject to holding periods and its value depends on the future performance of the share price.”
