NOW SAINSBURY’S BOSS REALLY IS IN THE MONEY AS HE PICKS UP £1.8m
SAINSBURY’S boss Mike Coupe may have been left red-faced when he was filmed singing We’re In The Money last week after striking a deal to buy rival Asda for £7.3bn.
But just days later he was handed shares in the supermarket worth £1.8m through a long-term incentive plan.
The 57- year- old, who earned £2.3m last year and £2.8m the year before, sold £864,000 of the shares to cover his tax bill. But he still owns more than 1.6m shares in Sainsbury’s, worth £4.8m.
Coupe’s latest awards were part of a payout for a string of bosses, worth a total of around £5m.
He is masterminding a takeover of Asda that will create Britain’s biggest supermarket chain with £51bn of sales a year.
Only hours after announcing the deal to the London Stock Exchange last week, Coupe was filmed by a TV company singing: ‘We’re in the money, the sky is sunny, let’s lend it, spend it, send it rolling along.’
The lyrics are from one of the best-known songs from the hit musical 42nd Street. The grocery chain boss was forced into a humiliating apology as fears mounted over what impact the Asda deal would have on suppliers and jobs.
‘This was an unguarded moment trying to compose myself before a TV interview,’ he said.
‘ It was an unfortunate choice of song, from the musical 42nd Street, which I saw last year, and I apologise if I have offended anyone.’
A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: ‘Mike is not selling any shares for cash and is not making any immediate profit.
‘He is selling a portion of shares to meet tax and national insurance obligations. This is standard practice and happens in May every year, immediately after the publication of our preliminary results.’