(MKS.L) Marks & Spencer Group PLC Buy/Sell

Shorters Doomed to failure.
M&S set for staff bonuses
By NEIL CRAVEN

Staff at Marks & Spencer are growing confident of securing an annual bonus for the first time in three years as the chain continues to smash City expectations.

M&S has set aside a bonus pot of at least £50million, meaning an average windfall of £640 for the company's 78,000 full and part-time employees in May.

The bonus is understood to be based on internal targets and what City analysts thought the company could achieve earlier in the year, when expectations were dire.

Bouncing back: Sales at M&S have continued to surpass expectations
Chairman and chief executive Sir Stuart Rose is set to confirm on Wednesday at the half-year results that a bonus could be paid, barring a calamitous Christmas.
Last year many retailers, particularly M&S, were forced to cut prices to clear stock in the financial crisis. But people who have avoided redundancy have begun spending again, albeit more carefully, and retailers have been more conservative when buying stock to avoid unplanned discounting.


'M&S has certainly made a provision for the bonus,' said retail analyst Nick Bubb at broker Pali International. 'Rose wants to avoid a repeat of the two megadays of big discounts last November and December, but it is still early days and he will retain the right to do something if necessary.'


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