Premier Farnell Ltd. is a distributor of products for electronic system design, maintenance and repair throughout Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, with operations in 36 countries and trading in over 100.

[10][11] In 2007 the firm launched its Greater China business, Premier Electronics, with a warehouse and distribution centre in WaiGaoQiao.

[15] In September 2009, it announced the acquisition of CadSoft Computer GmbH, developer of EAGLE electronic design automation software,[16] which it later sold.

The name was taken from silicon, the 14th element in the Periodic Table, which is widely used in electronic components such as integrated circuits and discrete semiconductors.

These are hardware kits typically centred around a particular microprocessor or microcontroller and are used by design engineers to develop and prototype new products.

Farnell was named as one of the major partners in the consortium behind the micro:bit, taking responsibility for sourcing of components and overseeing the manufacturing process.