House, and in partnership with Gerald Ronson. The company also invested in retail developments, including the 1985 development of St Nicholas Centre while redeveloping the former Robb department store in Belfast into the Donegall Arcade. In the 1980s, GUS started selling off its physical retail businesses, but retained the freehold and leaseholds, changing the company to GUS Property Management. The company continued to invest in property by purchasing The Forge shopping centre in Glasgow from Arlington Retail for £35 million in 1993 and the Connswater Shopping Centre in Belfast for £23.25m in 1996. In 1997, GUS set up a joint company with British Land to manage the £900 million property portfolio held by GUS Property Management. Called BL Universal, British Land paid £230 million for its half share of the joint company. The new business sold or relinquished 894 properties, either reinvesting in new property, such as retail parks, or returning cash to the share holders. In 2003, British Land purchased the remaining 50% shareholding from GUS for £120 million, and paid off a £43 million loan that GUS had provided to BL Universal. Finance business GUS purchased Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co, a British owned department store chain located in the far East in 1957. The business included several finance arms including General Guarantee Corp Ltd, a company dealing in equipment leasing and hire purchase financing. In 1964, Great Universal started selling motor insurance via their catalogues. In 1997 General Guarantee purchased the vehicle leasing company Highway Vehicle Management. The finance business was sold as part of the company refocus under David Wolfson and Victor Barnett. Highway Vehicle Management was sold to First National, a division of Abbey National for around £170 million in 2000, with K.C Finance, its Channel Island subsidiary of General Guarantee Finance sold for £54 million. The remaining part of General Guarantee Finance was closed down in 2000 with the loss of 600 jobs after failing to find a buyer. The Whiteaway Laidlaw Bank was then transferred to the Home Retail Group, and was sold in 2007 to the Manchester Building Society. Credit agency and direct marketing business In the 1970s, the Midland Household stores division of GUS developed a credit referencing system to help against bad debt on credit provided in its furniture stores. It was such a success that it was offered to other parts of the GUS group, and it grew and developed