Yell losing two senior boardroom members

Mr Condron began his Yell career in 1980 as a member of its marketing team before becoming managing director of Yellow Pages Group in 1994 and chief executive of Yell following its sale by BT in 2001.

The 60-year-old, who has told the company he intends to retire by next May, has grown the Yellow Pages business into a leading presence in the United States, Spain and the online market in the UK.

Mr Davis, who has been chief financial officer since 2000, is leaving to "pursue a new direction in his career". He will stay until a successor is found.

The departures were announced as Yell posted annual results showing the impact of another difficult year for the advertising industry.

Revenues fell 11.5 per cent to 2.12bn and adjusted earnings were down 24 per cent to 619.6m in the year to March 31, although Mr Condron said that trading in the fourth quarter of the period was ahead of guidance.

Revenues from Yellow Pages printed directories slumped 19 per cent to 409.4m, leading to a 16 per cent drop in UK underlying earnings to 225.2m.

It has focused on retaining customers during the downturn, as it feels that new customers were less loyal and spent less than those who have been with Yell for some years.