into direct marketing, credit management and store cards. In 1980, GUS approached assistance from IBM, who recommended that they sold its products to others, thus the department became a separate organisation called Commercial Credit (Nottingham) (CCN), which sold its products to organisations outside of the GUS group. During 1984 GUS purchased Manchester Guardian Society for the Protection of Trade. In 1986, CCN bought US business MDS (Management Decision Systems), a specialist company developing credit scoring models. In November 1996, TRW sold their credit agency unit TRW Information Systems and Services Inc, that operated under the name Experian to Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners. Just one month later, the two firms sold Experian to Great Universal Stores. GUS merged the business with CCN and renamed the business Experian. In 1997, GUS purchased US direct marketing company Direct Marketing Technology for $246 million. 2000s divestment and demerger The company started divesting its business by selling its Universal Versand business in April 2001 to the Otto group for £23 million. Its luxury brand The Scotch House was put up for sale, but no buyer could be found and so the business was closed down in 2001 and its Knightsbridge store transferred to Burberry. The company expanded into new markets by buying the Reality Group, a Web design, hosting and e-commerce consultancy business it had acquired for £35 million and merging it with its GUS Transport business, known as White Arrow, naming the combined business Reality. Later on in 2001, Breathe.com, at the time Britain's 4th largest internet service provider was purchased from near bankruptcy, but was sold just three months later at a profit to Affinity Internet Holdings. In 2004, the company sold its traditional home shopping (catalogues) division in the UK and Scandinavia and its Reality business, which included the White Arrow business to the Barclay twins for £590 million, who later merged the Littlewoods mail order operations into it. This included the iconic Great Universal Stores catalogue, from which the company took its name, and completed the departure of GUS from its original business areas. Around the same time, the Barclays announced the closure of the Littlewoods Index catalogue showroom chain, the principal rival to Argos in the UK, selling around 35 stores to Argos. Following a reorganization led by Barnett, it was announced in May 2005 that GUS would divest its stake in Burberry by distributing Burberry shares