Staff at the John Lewis Partnership will see their bonuses cut as the retail giant revealed a slump in annual profits.

The group said it will reduce the renowned bonus to three per cent of annual salary, with 83,000 partners sharing out a pot worth £44.7 million, down from £74m the previous year.

It has cut the bonus for six years running now, and the latest figure is down from 5% last year.

Operating profit at the department store fell by 56% to £114.7m due to weaker home sales, tighter margins, higher IT costs and the cost of new shops.

Like-for-like sales at the brand were down 1.4%.

The group saw profit before tax, exceptionals and bonus plummet 45.4% to £160m.

Overall revenue climbed 1% to £10.3 billion for the period ending January 26.

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Chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield said: "In line with expectations set out in June, our partnership profits before exceptionals have finished substantially lower in what has been a challenging year, particularly in non-food."

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Sales at Greggs have topped £1 billion for the first time as the launch of its controversial vegan sausage roll helps drive a surge in customer numbers.

The bakery chain posted a 15 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £82.6 million in 2018, with sales rising 7.2% to just over £1bn.

Company-managed shop like-for-like sales were up 2.9% in the period.

Greggs said that while the first half of 2018 was impacted by extreme weather, it was able to bounce back and perform ahead of expectations.

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For 2019, Greggs hailed the "enthusiastic reception" and "extraordinary" level of social and general media coverage surrounding its vegan sausage roll, which has helped spur a spike in footfall since its January launch.

Like for like sales were up by 9.6% in the seven weeks to February 16 and chief executive Roger Whiteside paid homage to the impact of the roll alongside the firm's full-year results.

He said: "Whilst there are significant uncertainties in the months ahead, Greggs has started 2019 in great form, helped in part by the publicity surrounding the launch of our vegan-friendly sausage roll."

Insurance giant Aviva has become the latest firm to flag pressure from Brexit uncertainties as it warned over "more muted" growth in 2019.

Shares in the group dropped more than three per cent as it said it would be "difficult to sustain" earnings growth notched up over the past two years in the face of Brexit woes.

It marks the latest sign of corporate strain in the UK as Brexit worries take their toll.