In brief...

The 10 year deal includes an option for Greatline to buy the site if Universal decides to sell. The former salvage auction branch has been mothballed since 2002 when it was deemed to be surplus to requirements. The gross value of the property according to Userve's accounts is £2.6m. Universal said the proceeds of any sale would be used to reduce bank borrowings. Automate meeting - The first Honda Automate User Group, consisting of 17 Honda dealerships who have been using the Automate dealer management system for about 18 months, met last month. The dealers elected Mark Turner, managing director of Fawcett's Honda Newbury, as chairman. The dealers' main concern was for their DMS to integrate with their franchise systems on an ongoing basis. Automate producer MMI Automotive claimed it was committed to ensuring the system was “the most reactive” on the market. Finance drop - Finance provided for new car sales fell last month compared to July 2004. The latest Finance and Leasing Association figures show that in July the new car finance market fell 2 per cent by value and 5 per cent in volume. A total of £982m was loaned to car buyers to fund 87,183 new vehicle purchases. The used car finance market was up 3 per cent year-on-year, with volumes consistent with the previous July.