Tougher financial performance targets set by the retail giant mean the payout pot for 56,000 staff is likely to shrink to less than £25million from £91million last year, when Rose received a cash bonus of £1million.

Despite turning in the best bottom-line performance since Sir Richard Greenbury was at the helm a decade ago, Rose is likely to reiterate that trading conditions are tougher than they were then.

Clothing sales have been hit particularly hard by the credit crunch as consumers  spend less while house prices come under pressure.

The company has lost about a quarter of its market value since announcing its first fall in sales for more
than two years in January,al­though international expan­sion should improve earnings. The M&S board has also come under fire for flouting corporate governance guidelines by making Rose executive chairman, claiming this was best for shareholders.

John Stevenson, retail analyst at stockbroker Shore Capital, said: “This is an important meeting for management to reassert control, in terms of strategy and business development, after a surprisingly weak Christmas trading update and corp­orate governance wrangling.”