What's all this about?

Aston Martin is branching out into the consulting business, sharing its design, engineering and manufacturing expertise as Aston Martin Consulting (AMC). Based at Gaydon in Warwickshire, home to Aston's 1,800-strong workforce, AMC hopes to build on the success of previous collaborative projects.

Dr Andy Palmer, Aston Martin CEO, said: "We are often asked to collaborate on projects with other companies. My belief is that we can expand the provision of our expertise and experience even further. The formation of Aston Martin Consulting means that we can offer a more structured approach to these projects."

Has it done anything I've heard of?

Aston Martin worked with Sir Norman Foster's company, Foster + Partners, to design the London Bus of the future in 2008. More recently there was the AM37 powerboat, created in conjunction with Quintessence Yachts.

Bradley Yorke-Biggs has been appointed Managing Director of Aston Martin Consulting. He brings 14 years' experience of serving on the senior management team. He said: "We are very excited to be able to extend the reach of the business to include the provision of services across different sectors; both automotive and beyond. We have an incredibly talented and experienced team within Aston Martin and we look forward to expanding our horizons as we work with new clients on interesting new projects."