Staff at the John Lewis Partnership are to get an annual bonus equivalent to more than seven weeks pay, the retail group has announced.

The 63,000 partners, who co-own the department store and supermarket business, will share a pot of £106 million, an increase of 21 per cent on a year earlier following a 24pc rise in pre-tax profits to £216 million in the year to January 29.

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

The John Lewis department store business, which operates from 26 sites, including one in Cheadle, Cheshire with another scheduled to open in the Trafford Centre this summer, produced a sales rise of 1pc despite toughening conditions in the non-food sector. Profits at an operating level were up 8pc at £212 million.

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 UKs strongest retail brands.

In the first five weeks of the new financial year, John Lewis said the divisions experienced different trading conditions, with sales at Waitrose ahead 20pc on a year earlier and John Lewis down 1pc.

The bonus rate for the year is 14pc of salary, up from the 12pc awarded in 2003 but short of the 22pc paid to Partners in 1998. A further £81 million is also being invested in the pension scheme, which John Lewis said was now the only non-contributory final salary scheme among large retail employers.

Staff numbers increased by 4,000 in the year to 63,100 - 56pc of whom work at 166 Waitrose supermarkets. The annual wage bill rose by 4pc to £714 million.

The growth at Waitrose comes after it increased selling space by 20pc through the acquisition of 19 shops from Morrisons, following the Bradford-based retailers purchase of Safeway last year.

The expansion gave Waitrose a presence in many new regions, where the company said shoppers had "shown their enthusiasm for the Waitrose difference". Stripping out new stores, Waitrose like-for-like sales rose by 3pc.