The telecommunications group announced that it would re-enter the directory market a year after it sold its Yellow Pages business, Yell, for 2.1bn to two venture capital companies.

The provisionally named Purple Pages will be incorporated as a section in BTs telephone directories, but a separate directory will be produced in areas where the combined telephone and services directory is too bulky.

A spokesman for BT said that the most likely place for the new directory to be produced was Benhamgoodheadprint, which currently produces BTs directories.

The GPMU and Benhamgoodheadprints management are trying to reach agreement on a wage increase for staff.

Story by John Davies