Broadcast software development company Marquis has spun off its consultancy division so that it is a separate Limited Liability Partnership.

The move will allow Marquis Consulting to provide totally independent advice on its areas of expertise from multimedia and IPTV technology to channel start-up, business continuity planning and disaster recovery.

“This is a very exciting move and we look forward to offering broadcasters and media professionals a truly independent service,” said Bob Gentry, managing partner, Marquis Consulting.

Marquis’ consultancy division was set up in 2006 to advise broadcasters looking to make the change to file-based workflows.

It now represents approximately 35% of Marquis’ revenues.

Gentry - who headed up the former Marquis consultancy division - will have overall responsibility for Marquis Consulting with close support from partners Peter Davies, Rod Bird and Andy Palmer.

All partners will share ownership of the new LLP with Marquis Holdings being the majority shareholder.

As a result of the restructure, Marquis Broadcast has promoted Neil Attard, a former product specialist and strategist, to the position of managing director. At the same time, Craig Littlewood has joined the company as a senior software developer.

Marquis Broadcast is responsible for the media transfer and format conversion tool Medway (pictured)