Marks & Spencer’s boss Stuart Machin was paid more than €8.4m last year – before the firm was hit by a crippling cyber attack, writes Emily Hawkins.

Machin saw his pay jump to £7.1m (€8.4m) in the 12 months to March 29 from £5.1m the previous year.

The details, published in the annual report yesterday, came as the High Street stalwart grapples with the fallout from a hack that has left it unable to sell clothes online for more than a month.

An M&S spokesman said Machin’s pay – which saw his basic salary of £843,000 topped up with bonuses and other awards – “reflects the strong performance and growth of M&S under his leadership over the last three years”.

Machin, 55, and chairman Archie Norman have overseen a dramatic turnaround at M&S.

The share price has soared, taking the firm back into the FTSE100.

Profits have hit their highest level for more than 15 years.

Machin’s salary is set to increase by 2pc this year to £866,000.

But there are questions over his bonus for the current year after the cyber hack, which the business estimates will cost it £300m.

M&S said it is “reviewing the performance metrics and targets” for its share award plan due to the cyber attack and will disclose these before the end of the year.

Shares hit a nine-year high earlier this year, but have plunged by 9pc since details of the hack emerged over the Easter bank holiday.

Shares yesterday gained 1.6pc to 380.3p.

Norman said the incident had caused a “significant” impact which “will endure for some weeks or even months”.

But he added: “I am confident that in a year’s time the cyber incident will prove to have been a bump in the road along the path to growth.”

And Machin, who has led the firm since 2022, said: “There is no change to our strategy and our longer-term plans to reshape M&S for growth and, if anything, the incident allows us to accelerate the pace of change as we draw a line and move on.”

Customers’ personal data, which is thought to have included names and contact details, was taken by the criminals.

And the disruption last month resulted in some empty shelves in shops as well as forcing the retailer to suspend online shopping.

Cyber criminals have also targeted the Co-op, Harrods, Christian Dior and Victoria’s Secret in recent weeks.

Photo: Stuart Machin and AJ Odudu attend The Fashion Awards 2024 presented by Pandora at Royal Albert Hall on December 02, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Devika Bilimoria/Getty Images for BFC)