Retail news round-up on June 6, 2014: Sainsbury’s bags £700,000 bonus, Baugur boss cleared of fraud, Burberry boss Bailey handed £7.5m in shares and small business could get rates exemption.

Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King to get £781,000 in annual bonus

J Sainsbury’s outgoing boss Justin King became the only head of a listed UK supermarket group to receive an annual bonus this year, Bloomberg reported. King has been handed a bonus of £781,000 as part of his overall £3.9m pay for last year, according to Sainsbury’s annual report. King’s bonus fell 22% on last year, while his overall pay slumped by 9.6% to £3.95m.

Baugur’s ex-boss to soon invest in UK retail

Baugur’s former boss Jon Asgeir Johannesson is set to return to the UK high street after being acquitted of fraud allegations by an Icelandic court. Johannesson had been accused of siphoning a $2bn loan from the country’s Glitnir bank as it teetered on the brink of collapse. It is understood that because the fraud charges have been quashed, Johanneson will soon begin investing in UK retail.

“It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Jon return to the British high street in the near future,” sources close to the situation told The Telegraph.

Burberry’s new boss Christopher Bailey to get £7.5m in one-off shares

UK luxury fashion company Burberry has handed its new chief executive Christopher Bailey a multimillion-pound pay deal. Bailey will be awarded a £1.1m in salary, £7.5m in one-off shares and potentially millions of pounds in long-term incentive shares. He will also be given the same £440,000 in cash allowance as his predecessor Angela Ahrendts, which will include private medical insurance, life assurance and long-term disability insurance.

Small businesses may be exempted from business rates

Over 100,000 small businesses could be exempted from business rates under radical proposals to reform the controversial tax, The Telegraph reported. A Government consultation on overhauling the administrative side of the tax closes on Friday, with a number of business groups and companies pushing for fundamental reform. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has proposed to the Chancellor that small businesses are freed from the tax, a move which would impact 1.14m properties. The trade body argues this would reduce the workload for the Government’s valuers and allow them to monitor the value of other properties more regularly, ensuring that business rates move in line with the state of the economy.

Phil Geary joins The Entertainer as new marketing director

Toy retailer The Entertainer has hired former Holland & Barrett marketing boss Phil Geary in the newly created role of marketing director, Marketing Magazine reported. Geary will join the board of The Entertainer and will oversee its marketing and online departments.

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