John Lewis profits hit £300m

Profits at the John Lewis Partnership are expected to exceed £300m for the first in the company’s history, when the company unveils record annual results. The partnership's 65,000 employees are also expected to receive the best bonuses they have enjoyed in decades, sharing in an estimated windfall of over £130m. Staff are expected to get a bonus equivalent to about 16% of salary. Last month the partnership unveiled aggressive expansion plans which, if successful, would result in the business creating 35,000 new jobs and doubling turnover to £12 billion by 2017. It would mean 10 new department stores for the firm. The group has emerged alongside Marks & Spencer and Tesco as one of the big winners in the retail sector, which has enjoyed mixed fortunes of late.