The boss of Marks and Spencer has seen his pay package soar to £7.1 million, as he leads the retailer through the disruption of a damaging cyber attack.
Stuart Machin, chief executive of the high street giant since 2022, received the bumper pay deal after a sharp rise in performance-linked bonuses.
The company’s latest annual report revealed that Mr Machin saw his total pay deal, including bonuses and benefits, rise by 39% to £7.1 million for the year to March 2025.
His pay package included £4.6 million of long-term performance-based bonuses, which he cannot access for at least two more years, as well as a £1.6 million bonus linked to M&S’s performance over the year.
He also received around £894,000 of fixed pay and pensions benefit for the year.
Bosses confirmed in the report that Mr Machin’s fixed salary will increase by 2 per cent for the new financial year.
He received the higher pay deal after leading the company through a major turnaround strategy which has seen M&S return its clothing and home sales to growth and boost profitability.
In April, shares in the company rose to their highest level for almost nine years due to improving trading.
However, the retailer – which runs 565 stores across the UK – has faced heavy disruption since the Easter weekend after being struck by a major cyber attack.
M&S halted orders on its website and saw empty shelves after being targeted by hackers.
Customer personal data, which could have included names, email addresses, postal addresses and dates of birth, was also taken by hackers in the attack.
M&S is still unable to process any online orders, although it is understood the retailer is hoping to partly restore this within two to three weeks.
Mr Machin told reporters that hackers gained access to the company’s IT systems through a third party after “human error”.
In the annual report, M&S chairman Archie Norman said the significant impact of the hack – which is expected to cost the firm around £300 million – is likely to “endure for some weeks, or even months”.
He added: “I am confident that in a year’s time the cyber incident will prove to have been a bump in the road along the path to growth, even if it does not feel like that today.
“However, coming on top of a very strong trading year it has stretched the sinews of the management team and we have seen an extraordinary response from our colleagues in the support centre, in our logistics centres and particularly in our stores.”
An M&S spokeswoman said: “CEO pay is decided by the board and reflects performance against stretching pre-set targets.
“Almost 90% of Stuart’s pay is linked to performance of the business and the share price – therefore his total pay for full-year 2025 reflects the strong performance and growth of M&S under his leadership over the last three years.
“Over 75% of Stuart’s pay is made up of long-term and deferred share awards, subject to waiting periods and tied to future share price performance.
“This year, our strong performance meant we could make our biggest ever investment in store colleague pay.
“Additionally, over 5,000 colleagues, including store managers, received a bonus. We also returned more value to shareholders with an increased dividend payment.”
