PC sales in Western Europe reached 17.9 million units in the fourth quarter of 2007, but shipments underperformed compared to the year's overall 12 per cent growth, according to analyst Gartner.

The number of PCs delivered in the region grew just 9.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with the same period in 2006.

HP led the market, with a share of 22.6 per cent, followed by Acer and Dell, with 17 per cent and 11.1 per cent respectively.

UK shipments grew 9.6 per cent to reach 3.3 million units, led by HP, Dell and Acer.

But demand for desktop PCs was down, said Ranjit Atwal, principal analyst at Gartner.

“The biggest casualty was the desk-based market that declined more than 15 per cent,” he said.

“This was the result of weaker demand from the business segment.”