Sainsbury is launching a new incentive scheme that could potentially pay out more than £90m to its top managers it they transform the group’s fortunes over the next four years, according to newspaper reports.

The supermarket group is offering its store managers the chance to win £50,000 if the company manages to double its earnings per share and grow annual sales by £2.5bn.

Chairman, Philip Hampton, is reported to have told shareholders that to grow Sainsbury’s sales by £2.5bn to about £20bn, the group must grow annual underlying sales by around 3 to 4% in line with the UK food retail market - a feat the company has managed to do only once during the past 10 years.