His basic annual salary has risen from£725,000 to£850,000, according to the supermarket's annual report, with a 41 per cent surge in pension payments to£255,000. Including his bonus, King could earn more than£2.3 million this year, up from£1.9 million in 2006.
Sainsbury's said King's basic pay had fallen significantly behind the average for senior executives. The company, which is headed by chairman Sir Philip Hampton, said: 'The remuneration committee strongly believes it is in the interests of shareholders to realign his base salary with market-competitive levels.'
Sainsbury's, the UK's third-biggest supermarket, revealed underlying profits soared 42 per cent to£380 million, on sales up 6.9 per cent to£18.5 billion, in the year to March 24. Last month, King also revealed that the grocer is to embark on a massive non-food sales offensive as part of ambitious plans to increase total sales by£3.5 billion over the next three years.
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