Directors at Morrisons have taken steps to keep other top executives in place following the departure of former chief executive Marc Bolland to run Marks & Spencer.

Finance director Richard Pennycook, who was the favourite to succeed Mr Bolland but was pipped for the top job by Dalton Phillips, has reportedly received a £500,000 long-term share-incentive package to help keep him at the Bradford-based supermarket group.

A similar package has also been awarded to group retail director Mark Gunter.

Mr Pennycook was the architect of the recovery plan which Marc Bolland drove forward during his tenure at Morrisons and which has seen the UK’s fourth largest supermarket out-perform its key rivals .

Also, as is usual in such top level deals, Mr Bolland, who takes up the reins at M&S from May, is barred from poaching any senior Morrisons’ executives for at least 12 months.

Irish-born Dalton Phillips, who is coming to Bradford from Canada where since 2007 he has been chief operating officer of Loblaw Companies, Canada’s largest food distributor, is expected to start at Morrisons towards the end of March.

Morrisons will also announce its annual results next month.