Business news in brief: Sainsbury’s | Sesame | Simpson & Marwick | Ryanair

Justin King, the chief executive of Sainsbury’s, has seen the value of his pay deal jump more than 22 per cent after overseeing the retailer’s fifth consecutive rise in annual profits.

King, who has run the UK’s third-largest supermarket chain since 2004, received pay and bonuses of almost £4.3 million in the year to March, up from £3.5m the previous year, as profits at the firm grew 6.2 per cent to £756m.

His annual bonus nearly doubled to £996,000 on the back of the results, while more than 134,000 employees across the group shared a record bonus pool of more than £90m.

Sesame stung with £6m fine from FCA

The Financial Conduct Authority has fined investment firm Sesame £6 million for selling life insurance settlement products known as “death bonds” to customers without spelling out the risks.

The regulator said Sesame advised 426 customers to invest more than £6.1m in life settlement products provided by investment company Keydata between July 2005 and June 2009, with the vast majority of sales unsuitable for consumers. Keydata, which went bust in June 2009, had promised steady returns on the bonds linked to second-hand US life insurance policies.

Simpson & Marwick appoints Truscott

Scottish legal firm Simpson & Marwick continued to build up its employment team yesterday, hiring QC and part-time judge Ian Truscott.

Truscott, who has chaired the employment law group of the Law Society of Scotland since 1980, will work across the firm’s offices in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as London. His appointment comes just a month after Simpson & Marwick poached four partners from rival Scottish practice MacRoberts to join its employment law team at its Glasgow base.

Passenger numbers soaring at Ryanair

Ryanair has reported record passenger numbers for the 12 months to May after enjoying a 5 per cent increase last month.

The budget airline, which is facing a call from the UK Competition Commission (CC) to reduce its stake in fellow Irish carrier Aer Lingus, said it flew 7.86 million passengers in May. That helped the 12-month figure grow 4 per cent to 79.8 million. Its load factor – a measure of how full its planes were – edged up to 82 per cent, from 81 per cent a year earlier.

The CC’s final ruling on Ryanair’s 29.8 per cent stake in Aer Lingus is expected by 11 July.