John Lewis Partnership has said it will not pay a staff bonus for the third year in a row (Image: Getty)
Retailer John Lewis Partnership has said it will not pay a staff bonus for the third year in a row despite seeing annual profits rebound higher. The employee-owned business, which runs the department store chain and Waitrose supermarket arm, posted a 73% jump in pre-tax profits to £97 million for the year to January 25.
On an underlying basis, profits tripled to £126 million from £42 million a year ago. But the group said it would not pay out a bonus once again for its workforce of around 73,000 people, instead saying it would prioritise another £114 million in overall pay and up to £600 million of investment in the business.
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Shoppers walk past John Lewis (Image: Getty)
It said: “After careful consideration, we have prioritised this investment over sharing a bonus this year.” Jason Tarry, who took over as chairman of the John Lewis Partnership from Dame Sharon White last September, said: “We have made good progress with much more still to do.
“Looking forward, I see significant opportunity for growth from both our Waitrose and John Lewis brands. This will involve considerable catch-up investment in our stores and supply chain.”
The group said it expects a further rise in profits in the 2025-26 financial year, despite cautioning that it expects the wider economic backdrop “to be challenging for our customers and our business”.