The two top executives of Yell Group, the directories business which was the largest European flotation last year, have sold shares worth almost £16m (€24m) following the expiry of the 12-month lock-in agreement for directors.

John Condron, the Yell chief executive who made more than £5.5m from selling shares at the time of group's stock market debut last July, on Wednesday sold a further £10.88m worth of shares.