Sports Direct, the sportswear retailer 71%-owned by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, is set to give its staff bonuses worth 25% of pay as a recognition of rising profits in its half-year results.

Sports Direct, which operates more than 350 outlets, announced that group revenue was up 10.1% to £756.9 million and, as a result, staff can expect to take a share of a £5m bonus pot.

Dave Forsey, the company’s chief executive, said the company had achieved the threshold of £155m in underlying profit to trigger the bonus scheme, which was set up last year. It offers 25% of base pay, in shares.

He added: “We are pleased with our performance in the first half of this year, when conditions remained challenging. Although the operating environment is likely to remain difficult we have motivated colleagues, a fantastic unrivalled range of products for our customers and a World Cup to look forward to.”

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