Marks and Spencer is poised to award staff generous bonuses for the past year as it prepares to reveal its annual results this week.

More than 72,000 staff are expected to share a bonus pot of £80 million, as a reward for raising the retailer’s profits by 5 per cent. It is expected that M&S’s annual profits will be £630 million after the bonuses have been paid out.
If confirmed, the payout would amount to £1,100 per worker on average.

M&S did not pay a bonus last year, but is increasingly positive about its economic outlook after achieving significant cost savings during the recession. New chief executive Marc Bolland took over from Sir Stuart Rose this month, while the group is also seeking a new chairman in time for its main shareholder meeting in July.