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Frasers lowers goal for new bonus plan after boss misses £100m payout target

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Frasers lowers goal for new bonus plan after boss misses £100m payout target



Frasers boss Michael Murray will miss targets to secure a £100 million bonus this year, but the firm has revealed plans for a new scheme with a lowered share price goal that could still see him net the mammoth payout by 2030.

Mr Murray, who succeeded his father-in-law Mike Ashley at the helm in 2022, has waived his salary for three years in a row in order to focus on meeting targets for the potential £100 million award.

The bonus is conditional on the group achieving a pre-tax profit of at least £500 million and a £15 share price for 30 consecutive dealing days.

The two conditions have to be met before October for Mr Murray to receive the mammoth payout under the current scheme.

While the group has met the earnings goal, delivering underlying pre-tax profits of £560.2 million for the year to April 27, it cannot meet the shares target by October, with Frasers stock at around £6.80 at the time of writing.

But ahead of its annual general meeting next month, the Sports Direct owner revealed proposals for a new five-year bonus scheme with a lowered share price target – from £15 to £12 – which could still see its chief executive secure a £100 million payout.

Under the new plans, Mr Murray must meet the shares target by September 30 2030.

It is also conditional on the group achieving an underlying pre-tax profit of at least £500 million, with all other aspects of the scheme remaining the same.

Mr Murray will also forgo the salary for the current 2025-26 financial year, according to Frasers’s latest annual report.

On the decision to amend the shares target for the next five years, Frasers said: “The committee views this as an appropriate share price target for all executive share scheme awards (including those for the chief executive) in the current macroeconomic and political environment which is challenging for all businesses in the UK and also internationally.”

It pointed out that £12 was still above the highest share price reached for Frasers in the past five years, which was £9.49.

Shareholders will vote on the plans at the group’s AGM on September 24.

Details of the new bonus plans came as Frasers announced that the former head of Britain’s audit watchdog will join the firm as chairman from next month.

Sir Jon Thompson will succeed David Daly, who steps down after eight years in the role.

Frasers appointed ex-Financial Reporting Council (FRC) boss Sir Jon to the board as a non-executive director in June and was widely reported to be lining him up to take over from Mr Daly this year.

Sir Jon will take on the role on September 1, with Mr Daly stepping down from the board at the firm’s AGM.

The group also announced the expected appointment to the board of Andy Lyon, a former partner at accountancy giant PwC, who acted as audit partner for Next and its credit business.

It said it was also set to appoint a second “well-advanced candidate” for a further non-executive director position as it looks to also replace Ger Wright and Helen Wright, who are not seeking re-election at the group’s upcoming AGM.

Mr Murray said: “Jon’s deep experience in corporate governance and strategic leadership will be invaluable as we continue to grow as a leading global retail business.”

Frasers is majority-owned by retail tycoon Mr Ashley and also owns brands including House of Fraser, Flannels and Jack Wills and stakes in firms such as Hugo Boss.



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UK retail sales rebound as motorists stock up on fuel

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UK retail sales rebound as motorists stock up on fuel



UK retail sales returned to growth last month as they were pushed higher by motorists stocking up on fuel as prices shot higher because of the Iran war, according to official figures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total volume of retail sales, which measures the quantity bought, rose by 0.7% in March.

It compared with a 0.6% fall in February, which was revised slightly lower.

The latest reading was also stronger than expected, with economists having predicted a 0.1% dip for the month.

Statisticians said March’s increase was particularly driven by a spike in demand for fuel, which saw sales volumes jump by 6.1% for the month, the highest level since April 2021.

They indicated that this was especially linked to a short period, of less than a week, of particularly elevated sales as unfolding geopolitical events in the Middle East caused a significant rise in prices at the pump.

The value of sales, the amount of money spent, for fuel was up 11.6% amid the jump in petrol and diesel prices.

Recent data from the RAC shows that petrol prices have risen by 18.5% to 157.34 pence per litre, as recorded on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, diesel is up 33.4% to an average of 189.88 pence per litre.

Elsewhere, clothing stores also had a strong month, with sales volumes across the category rising by 1.2% in March amid a boost from better weather conditions.

Technology retailers also saw sales grow after they benefited from new products launches.

However, food sales were weaker, slipping by 0.8% for the month.

The ONS said overall retail sales volumes are up 1.6% for the first three months of 2026, as the industry was also supported by positive growth in January.

ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: “Retail sales rose in the three months to March, with commercial art galleries doing well earlier in the quarter and sales in beauty products stores rising as retailers reported launching new collections.

“Motor fuel sales were up on the quarter, with retailers commenting that many motorists had been filling up their tanks in March following the start of conflict in the Middle East.”

Elliott Jordan-Doak, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “The first batch of hard data on consumers’ spending since the start of the Iran war was better than expected.

“Granted, stocking up on motor fuels drove headline sales higher, but even excluding petrol retail sales volumes nudged up showing that households largely brushed off the initial shock of higher energy prices.”



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Top stocks to buy today: Stock recommendations for April 24, 2026 – check list – The Times of India

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Top stocks to buy today: Stock recommendations for April 24, 2026 – check list – The Times of India


Top stocks to buy (AI image)

Stock market recommendations: Bharat Electronics, and Colgate-Palmolive (India) have been recommended as the top stocks to buy today (April 24, 2026) by Bajaj Broking Research. Take a look at the target prices and expected returns:Bharat ElectronicsBuy in the range of ₹ 440.00-450.00

Target Return Time Period
₹ 495 11% 6 Months

The stock is in structural up trend forming higher high and higher low in all time frame signaling strength and continuation of the uptrend. The entire up move of the last 8 months is in a rising channel as can be seen in the chart highlighting sustained demand at an elevated level.On the smaller time frame, the stock is at the cusp of generating a breakout above the bullish Flag like formation as post a sharp up move in the first 3 weeks of April the stock went into a consolidation phase in the last four sessions. It is seen resuming up move and is at the cusp of generating a breakout above the bullish Flag formation highlighting continuation of the up move and offers fresh entry opportunity.We expect the stock to extend the up move and head towards 495 levels in the coming months being the confluence of the 123.6% external retracement of the previous decline 473 – 400 and the upper band of the rising channel of the last 8 months.Colgate-Palmolive (India)Buy in the range of 2120-2160

Target Return STOPLOSS Time Period
₹ 2330 9% 2020 3 Months

The share price of Colgate-Palmolive has generated a breakout above bullish Flag pattern signaling continuation of the up move and offers fresh entry opportunity.We expect the stock to head higher towards 2330 levels in the coming months being the measuring implication of the bullish flag breakout.The daily 14 periods RSI is in buy mode thus supports the positive bias in the stock.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)



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White House memo claims mass AI theft by Chinese firms

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White House memo claims mass AI theft by Chinese firms



A memo from Michael Kratsios says firms, mainly in China, are wrongfully distilling US AI models.



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