The boss of Marks & Spencer has sold £606,000 worth of shares in the retailer.
Stuart Machin, who has steered a successful turnaround at the high-street chain alongside chairman Archie Norman, sold 150,000 shares at a price of £4.04 each.
He was last recorded as owning shares worth up to £7million.
This is the equivalent of more than 800 per cent of his £843,000 annual salary – well over the requirement for him to own 250 per cent.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: ‘No reason has been given for the sale, which might leave some people asking if the outlook isn’t too bright for the nation’s beloved retailer.’
M&S lost out when a cyber-attack at Easter last year left it unable to sell products online for nearly two months, prompting some shoppers to turn to rival fashion group Next instead.
Checking out: M&S boss Stuart Machin, pictured, sold 150,000 shares at a price of £4.04 each. He was last recorded as owning shares worth more than £7m
But Machin has declared the worst is behind the retailer, saying last month that the group was entering 2026 ‘full of ambition and laser-focused on our plan to reshape M&S for further growth’.
Under Machin’s leadership, M&S has seen its clothes storm back into fashion after years in the doldrums, while food sales have continued to remain strong.
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