The AA, best known for its roadside recovery service, said on Thursday Chris Jansen, by mutual agreement, would stand down as chief executive and resign from the board with immediate effect.

The former British Gas executive, who joined AA at the start of the year, will leave the company following an "orderly transition", the firm said, with Bob Mackenzie leading the company as executive chairman.

"We completely understand and respect Chris's desire to seek new challenges outside the AA," Mackenzie said in statement.

The group said CFO Andy Boland would also leave and a further announcement on the timing of his exit would be made in due course.

AA floated at 250 pence a share in June, raising gross proceeds of 1.4 billion pounds. After a disappointing debut, the stock has performed more strongly in the last two weeks, reaching a new high of 277.25 pence earlier on Thursday.

Shares were trading at 276 pence at 08:20 AM BST.

(Reporting by Neil Maidment, Editing by Paul Sandle)