Sir Stuart Rose, who steps down as Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer at the end of next month, has been receiving rewards accumulating to 140% increase in salary and bonuses despite lackluster performance of the group.

The outgoing boss was able to scoop a bumper £4.3m in pay and bonuses last year, which is a whooping increase of nearly 140% on the previous 12 months.

From Guardian.co.uk:

Sir Stuart Rose, 61, was awarded a bonus of £2.8m in a year when M&S delivered a 5% increase in profits to £632m. The chain’s share price climbed 17% over its financial year – substantially less than the FTSE 100 gained in the same period.

Annual profits are still way below the £1bn recorded two years ago and the shares have slipped back 8% since the year-end in March. Rose did not earn a bonus in the previous year, when his salary and benefits totalled £1.8m. Other members of the M&S board were also rewarded with big bonuses. Together the five executive directors earned more than £12m, with clothing and homewares director Kate Bostock paid £2.5m and marketing director Steven Sharp receiving £2.3m.

Bostock’s basic salary of £549,000 was boosted with a bonus of £1.4m, a £255,000 cash “retention payment” and a £51,000 relocation allowance as well as a cash payment in lieu of pension contributions and nearly £40,000 of perks. The relocation payment was paid when Bostock took on homewares as well as clothing and needed to spend more time in the Paddington head office. An M&S spokeswoman said Bostock had moved “closer to London” from her home in Leicester.

Other members of the Marks & Spencer group were also rewarded with big bonuses despite the fact that annual profits were way below the £1bn recorded two years ago.