Computer 2000 (C2000) has ploughed an extra £25m of credit into the channel amid fears that the credit crunch is starting to take its toll on smaller resellers.

Some 1,950 dealers saw their credit lines expanded in January as a result of the move, which is designed to ensure that SME resellers who pay on time have room to grow.

Nick Tiltman, credit services director at C2000, said it was the firm’s biggest credit injection for years.

“Six years ago we put in about an extra £80m or £90m, but that was over six months. We have done this very quickly as we are confident in our ability to manage it. If resellers are paying on time and growing their business we will grow their credit lines and support them,” he said.

Tiltman claimed smaller VARs are vulnerable to belt tightening from banks and credit card firms, citing Egg’s decision to block 160,000 credit cards in early February.
“We’re seeing a tightening of lending criteria. A distributor’s job is to facilitate credit so that SMEs can grow,” he explained.

Eddie Pacey, director of credit at rival Bell Micro, said: “Given banks’ attitude to lending, there may well be some trade clients that will fall back on open credit to finance their business. We are looking to do something similar at the end of March for our SME accounts.”

Sue Richards, managing director of HP reseller EBM, said: “We’ve worked with C2000 for many years and its financial control is very good. If it is increasing some accounts’ credit lines it will have done extensive checks on them.”