Fresh & Easy Earns Tesco Chief a Pretty Penny

LONDON – The chief executive of Tesco, Terry Leahy, could receive a potential £9 million ($17.85 million) worth in share bonuses if the company's U.S. Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets venture is successful, the Times of London reported.

Last year, the executive made £4.62 million ($9.16 million) in cash and shares, an increase of 16 percent over the previous year. His earnings will be increased even more next month, when several enhanced bonus plans could be approved by shareholders at the group's annual meeting, according to the report.

The New Business Incentive Plan, which applies solely to Leahy, earns him up to an additional 2.5 million shares, which will gradually vest between the years 2011 and 2014, depending on the achievement of targets for the company's expansion in the U.S. and other international markets, the report stated.

Leahy could also receive an additional 50 percent of his salary in shares connected to the performance of its American business, along with an existing potential share bonus amounting to his salary plus a cash bonus totaling his salary.

In Tesco's annual report, published earlier this week, the company's remuneration committee stated it had reviewed the pay arrangements in the light of "the strengthening of returns in the international business and the creation of significant new business in the U.S.," according to the report.

In addition, a potential bonus is in line for Tim Mason, chief executive for Fresh & Easy, of up to 50 percent of his salary. Mason was the company's second-highest paid executive last year, bringing in £3.76 million ($7.45 million).

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