The news follows the company’s global expansion, which includes the recent opening of a Los Angeles based production hub.

Commenting on the announcement, Charles Wace, Group Chief Executive said he believed it was ‘… the right time for us to take distribution in house as we build the Twofour brand around the world. We have strategically retained the rights to the vast bulk of our shows over the last eighteen months so our catalogue can have real depth and impact on launch.”

Melanie Leach, Twofour’s MD, added that “Twofour produces more than 150 hours of factual, features and entertainment programing a year and has a wealth of formats to exploit. We’re looking forward to building deeper relationships with our international clients and supporting our new US production office with a wide range of proven UK content.”

The division will be headed by Twofour’s commercial director, Anthony Hughes and will launch with a team of eight staff including Anthony Appell, who joins as Head of Sales from Zodiak Rights.

Twofour Rights will be present at MIPCOM, offering a raft of formats and finished shows, including Britain’s Biggest Hoarders (BBC One), Alex Polizzi: The Fixer (BBC Two), Be Your Own Boss (BBC Three), A Short History of Everything Else (Channel 4), Born To Kill (Channel 5), The Angel (Sky 1 HD) and The Exclusives (ITV2). Further shows will be launched in the run up to the market.