Cooltrader, the frozen food chain set up by former Iceland boss Malcolm Walker, has opened its eighth store in Manchester.

Buying director Andy Errington said the company - set up by Walker in July 2001 - was stepping up its store opening programme in the coming year with plans to open one store a month for the “foreseeable future”.

Errington said that Cooltrader keeps its costs to a minimum by stocking a limited range (700 to 800 lines), focusing on frozen food plus some grocery and chilled produce. In addition it avoids running expensive advertising campaigns.