Advertising restrictions for hibu's Yellow Pages directory provisionally removed by Competition Commission
The Competition Commission (CC) has provisionally removed the restrictions placed around the charges that hibu (formerly Yell) can charge advertisers to be included within its printed directory the Yellow Pages.
The decision was made due to the increase in online directory use, which has seen a shift away from the use if printed directories by consumers and advertisers, which meant that the Yellow Pages and hibu no longer controlled the market share.
Martin Cave, deputy chairman of the CC, explained: "Twice as many people cite the Internet as their first choice when searching for goods and services as those citing Yellow Pages. This is almost the exact reverse of the situation when we carried out our investigation in 2006, when Yell held market power. Spending on Internet classified advertising has also more than doubled in the same period. hibu now prices below the price cap in all classifications and our provisional view is that there is no longer any need to retain the undertakings."
Meanwhile, according to the Financial Times,hibu is attempting to reach a deal with its creditors in order to restructure is debt of £2 billion.