Gourmet frozen food ready meals retailer Cook has opened its first store on Jersey.

The St Helier franchise is the second Cook shop to open in the Channel Islands a store opened on Guernsey in 2009.

The new outlet is the latest in a string of store openings for Cook.

A franchise opened on Thursday in Leigh-on-Sea, bringing the number of Cook stores to 48, 17 of which are franchises.

A Cook spokesman said the company hoped to open its 50th and company-owned store in June. It will unveil its annual results next month.