in 1968. During the same year GUS was taken to Court by Cheltenham department store Cavendish House about using the Cavendish name on the former Dale furniture store. In 1985, GUS combined The Times Furnishing Group, and its remaining furniture businesses that had been consolidated under Cavendish-Woodhouse, and branded them under the Times name. The 375 store business was sold to Harris Queensway in 1986, for an exchange of a 20% shareholding in Harris Queensway. Department stores and Drapery's In 1937, Charley Nicholls, the part owner of New Universal Stores sold his shares to Zellers, the Canadian retailer, who took over management of the chain and renamed it Hills & Steele. The business was making a loss and GUS took over management of the business in 1939, but sold it to British Home Stores in 1944. GUS however did not pull out of this market, and went on a purchasing spree. The first bought was Cardiff based store, Leslie Stores and its subsidiaries, John Dyer in Southsea, Ben Evans in Swansea and London House in Newport were purchased in 1940. World War II briefly slowed the growth, but after the war Bainbridges of Lincoln, Lincolnshire & Wisbech was purchased in 1949, quickly followed by J Robb & Co of Belfast in 1951. GUS subsidiary, Kays purchased the Kidderminster store Attwoods, while in 1954 Bladons of Hull and Jones & Higgins Peckham were acquired. The company added Pim Brothers (Dublin) and Darling & Co. Edinburgh in 1955, Houndsditch Warehouse, Houndsditch, London in 1958 and Beavans in Byker in 1964. Other department stores acquired during this time included Butterfield and Massies of Barnsley, Webbers of Maidenhead, Wickhams and Pyne Brothers both of London. GUS also purchased during this period smaller Drapery Stores, many of which offered credit to their customers. These included W. Brydson & Co of Perth, Evans and Allen of Newport, Garrett & Co of Woolwich, Rees Howell in Glamorgan, R. W. Pritchard in Shephards Bush, the Taylor-Nottidge Group which included the subsidiaries: F. Taylor & Sons (Lambeth), J. T. Nottidge (Islington), Gergels (Gravesend), Beck Jones (Lewisham), John Williams & Co (Rotherhithe), Heywoods (Manor Park). The biggest purchase was Penberthys of Oxford Street in 1955. However the age of the department store and drapery was starting to falter, and GUS sold, closed down or repurposed the stores. Darling & Co. was sold to House of Fraser in January 1961. J