Tesco boss Dave Lewis suffers 10% pay cut

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Tesco boss Dave Lewis took a 10 per cent pay cut last year after receiving a lower annual bonus, but the chief executive still received £4.1m.

The figure - comprising salary, bonus, benefits and pension - compares to £4.6m the previous year, when Mr Lewis's pay packet was boosted by a £3m bonus.

However, that slipped to £2.36m in the 2016/17 financial year, according to Tesco's annual report.

The bonus is linked to targets such as sales, profits and individual objectives.

Mr Lewis's base salary remained unchanged at £1.25m, while he received £223,000 in benefits and a £313,000 pension contribution.

The chief executive has been hailed for leading a turnaround of the supermarket since taking the helm in 2014.

Last month Tesco reported its first annual increase in UK sales for seven years, with the grocery giant's operating profits rising 30 per cent to £1.28bn, while group revenues increased 3.7 per cent to £55.9bn.

However, the firm has also been stung this year by a £235m hit after reaching an agreement with authorities over its 2014 accounting scandal, which will see it make a hefty compensation payout to investors.

The supermarket is also grappling with investor pressure over its £3.7bn takeover tilt for food wholesaler Booker, which was agreed in January.

The grocery giant is still aiming to slash costs by £1.5bn over the next three years to help boost margins, with thousands of Tesco jobs at risk as part of plans to cut back on night shifts and trading hours.

Tesco also said in March that it is to reimburse 140,000 current and former workers almost £10m following payroll errors.

The annual report shows that the second-best-paid executive at Tesco was finance chief Alan Stewart, who was awarded £2.2m last year, down from £2.6m.

He received a £1.2m bonus - down from £1.6m - on top of his £750,000 salary.

PA