Broker Credit Suisse has cast doubt on the terms of Marks & Spencer directors’ bonus scheme, questioning whether it is in the retailer’s long-term interests.

The criticism by Credit Suisse analyst Tony Shiret piles further pressure on the beleaguered management of M&S, following a series of high-profile spats with City institutions over corporate governance standards.

Shiret argued that the way the bonus scheme was structured could result in M&S's short-term profitability being put before total shareholder return.

He said: “We believe that the main executive long-term compensation scheme has contributed to the way in which strategy has been developed and needs to be reconsidered.”

Shiret also argued that cash used for M&S’s share buyback scheme, which boosts earnings per share, might have been better employed.

M&S posts full-year results later this month, when there will be intense interest in whether or not the retailer has managed to jump the£1 billion profit hurdle for the first time in a decade.