The boss of Just Eat Takeaway has seen his pay packet for the past year jump by more than half as sales rocketed during the pandemic.

Just Eat Takeaway’s latest annual report has revealed that chief executive officer Jitse Groen was handed a pay deal worth 1.13 million euros (£970,000) for the year to December.

It represents a 57.9% increase on his 720,000 euro (£617,000) full remuneration for 2019.

The pay increase came after Just Eat completed its £6.2 billion merger with European delivery rival Takeaway at the start of 2020.

Mr Groen, who founded Takeaway.com in the Netherlands, took the helm of the delivery giant as part of the move.

Last week, the group reported earnings of 256 million euros (£219 million) for 2020, up from 18 million euros (£15 million) in 2019 thanks to a 42% leap in orders.

It said UK orders jumped 35% over the year and said this had accelerated further in the current lockdown, with pubs and restaurants forced to shut across Britain.

The world’s largest online takeaway platform said it expects demand for orders to soar higher this year, with 88% growth in the first two months 2021.

In its annual report, the company also revealed that it handed 3.3 million euros in total to its management board, with its chief finance officer and chief operating officer both picking up pay deals worth just over one million euros.