ABOUT 900 staff at the Southampton branch of John Lewis are to share in an annual bonus equal to more than seven weeks' pay.

The bumper bonus, which also applies to staff at the group's supermarket offshoot Waitrose, comes on the back of a 24 per cent rise in annual profits for the retailer.

Nationally 63,000 "partners" who co-own the department store and supermarket business will share a pot of £106m - an increase of 21 per cent on a year earlier - following an announcement of pre-tax profits of £216m in the year to January 29.

The improved performance reflected growth at supermarket chain Waitrose, which lifted sales 10 per cent to £3 billion and profits by 10 per cent to £193m.

Chairman Sir Stuart Hampson said the partnership had marked its 75th anniversary in "fine style", adding that John Lewis and Waitrose were now two of the UK's strongest retail brands.

The bonus rate for the year is 14 per cent of salary, up from the 12 per cent awarded in 2003 but short of the 22 per cent paid to partners in 1998.

Staff get the payment because of the unusual structure of the company, which is owned by its workers as a collective rather than being a publicly quoted company with stockholders.

John Lewis said a further £81m would be invested in its pension scheme.