Next’s boss sees pay cut to £1.8m

Next’s boss, Lord Wolfson, has seen his pay packet drop by 55% – after the retailer posted its first fall in profits for eight years.

Lord Wolfson took home £1.8m for the year to January – down from £4.3m the previous year – according to the Enderby firm’s annual report.

In wide-ranging cost-cutting measures, Next has also announced that no executives would get an annual bonus for last year and that long-term share awards were also driven down.

A poor Christmas saw Next’s profits drop by 5.5% last financial year, and the firm says it sees no end to the tough trading conditions.

Caroline Goodall, chairman of the remuneration committee, said: “As outlined in our strategic report it has been a challenging year for Next and the remuneration outcomes for the directors have reflected this.

“Total annual remuneration earned by our executive directors for the financial year 2016/17 was significantly less than that earned for the financial year 2015/16.

“In the view of the remuneration committee, this is appropriate and aligns the remuneration received by management with the experience of shareholders.”

Next’s shareholders will vote on the pay cuts at the firm’s AGM in May.