by , 9:05 AM EDT, July 3rd, 2006

In a move that surprised its current partners, Apple recently signed up with a third UK distributor, Westcoast. This was its first distributor appointment in the UK in 15 years, according to the Web site Computing. The company also uses Computer2000 and Ingram Micro in the UK.

Westcoast's commercial director, Andy Dow, said that his company will stock all of Apple's hardware and software products. "Conversations have been going on for most of the year," he noted.

Garrett Doyle, managing director of the Apple reseller Rapid Group, wasn't sure what to make of the deal. "This has come as quite a surprise because most Apple resellers deal directly with Apple and only use distribution in an emergency," he told Computing. "It is more the non-authorised VARs that use distributors and they already have C2000 and Ingram to choose from. Westcoast is a good distributor, but I'm not exactly sure what it is going to add to the mix."