Sports Direct staff are in line for a pay bonanza this week as £87.5m is set to be dished out under its staff incentive scheme.

The sportswear retailer’s 2,000 employees will get a gross payment worth approximately £44,000, split over the next two years – more than double the average take home pay of £20,000 per annum. The pay-out is thought to be the largest ever within the retail sector.

The full amount will be confirmed when the sportswear retailer’s full year results are revealed on Thursday. Sports Direct, which has nearly 400 high street stores, is expected to report an underlying profit of £205m for its financial year ending March 27.

The sportswear giant has vowed to extend the scheme after partially attributing a sales and earnings rise to its success.

Sports Direct chief executive Dave Forsey said: “The board believes that the bonus share scheme that covered full-year 10 and full-year 11 has been a significant contributor to our success. It is our intention to extend the scheme for full years 12, 13 and beyond incorporating more aggressive targets.”