Executives at Britain’s largest listed companies received record compensation last year, creating the widest pay gap with workers in eight years, according to the High Pay Centre’s final report.

Median pay for FTSE 100 chief executives reached £5.06 million in the latest financial year, up 8.6% from £4.66 million a year earlier and the highest level on record.

Executive compensation has risen steadily since the pandemic, when chief executives faced reductions in salaries and bonuses as restrictions hurt corporate performance.

The analysis found that median FTSE 100 CEO pay is now 130 times the salary of the median full-time UK worker. This is the widest gap since the ratio reached 137 in the financial year ending in March 2018.

The High Pay Centre said FTSE 100 companies spent £856.6 million on executive pay during the latest financial year, including £550 million in compensation for chief executives.

The think tank, founded in 2011 by Deborah Hargreaves, a former Guardian business editor, is closing after 15 years of campaigning for fairer worker pay.

Andrew Speke, its interim director, said the sharp increase in the gap between executive and worker pay over the past year should serve as a warning to those who have overlooked rising executive compensation. He expressed hope that a change of prime minister and renewed attention to economic fairness would lead to a more equitable economy.