Tesco’s chief executive took home a record salary of almost £10m last year – the biggest profit deal ever awarded to a British supermarket boss.
Ken Murphy pocketed £9.9 million and his £1.4 million salary was supplemented by bonuses and other awards and benefits.
His total was more than double the £4.4m he raised the previous year and takes his total haul since taking the reins of the country’s biggest grocer in October 2020 to more than £20m.
A series of wage revolts have hit the city this spring as investors raise their eyebrows at windfall awards.
Murphy, 58, has seen his pay soar to 431 times the salary of the average Tesco worker, which is £23,010.
Every little bit helps: Tesco boss Ken Murphy pocketed £9.9m as his £1.4m salary was supplemented by bonuses and other awards and benefits.
Luke Hildyard, chief executive of the High Pay Centre, said: “You really can’t get a better indicator of how the UK economy serves the interests of the super-rich at the expense of everyone else than this: a billionaire chief executive spending others £10 million while its customers endure significant price increases and its employees have to make do with less than a quarter of a percentage of what the CEO takes home.
Tesco made a profit of £2.3bn in the year to February. It is one of the few British retailers to have ever passed the £1 billion profit milestone.
But Murphy has been forced to defend the company against accusations of profiteering as the prices of its food rose.
It has argued that Tesco’s costs have also risen and it has struggled to keep prices affordable for customers.
A Tesco spokesperson said yesterday: “When considering base pay increases for our senior executives, the committee continues to take into account both the wider experience of colleagues and our principles of fairness.”
Shareholders will vote on remuneration at Tesco’s annual meeting at its headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, on June 14.
Pay revolts at AstraZeneca, Pearson and Smith & Nephew have caused headaches for bosses in recent weeks. But others have argued that big pay packages are necessary to ensure talented bosses do not give up more lucrative positions abroad.
London Stock Exchange boss Julia Hoggett is among those calling on UK companies to ensure pay for top talent is equivalent to what is paid in the US.
