A 12-year storm over teacakes looks set to earn Marks & Spencer a £3.5m ($6.9m) tax refund, in a small but sweet victory for the retailer as it battles shareholder discontent over a planned boardroom shake-up.

Europe’s highest court on Thursday ruled that M&S should receive full repayment of value added tax levied on the cakes for more than 20 years, when they were incorrectly classified as “biscuits”.