Iceland founder Malcolm Walker has confirmed he is to set up a frozen food business but dismissed speculation that he wants to start a cold war with his former firm. The first 2,500 square foot shop is due to open mid-August in Wrexham, north Wales, not far from Iceland's headquarters in Deeside. "I've got no great ambitions for this business, I'm not looking to build an empire," Walker said. The new business is called Cool Trader, not Frozen Out as reports last week suggested. "That was a spoof name," he said. "If this store works we'll open others, but I don't know how it's going to go, it's partly an experiment, it'll be fun. "I don't see there's an issue at all with Iceland. They are a £5.5bn business and this is one little shop in Wrexham." Walker added the new store will be in a different format to Iceland and will not compete. "They shouldn't get worked up about it. I'm still probably Iceland's largest private shareholder, so I'm not going to do anything to damage them." Walker was reluctant to expand on what had attracted him back to the frozen food industry just six months after he left Iceland, except to say: "I saw an opportunity. I can't really go into it other than that at the moment." He refused to comment on reports that the DTI was investigating insider share dealing at Iceland, following the Financial Services Authority probe into his sale of £13.5m shares shortly before the company issued a profits warning. He stated: "I'm confident that I will be found to have acted properly." Walker said he was pleased with the progress of his other retail venture, the organics supermarkets As Nature Intended, headed by Pippa Sterry, Sainsbury's former head of organics. The first store, in Chiswick, opened a year ago, and the latest in East Sheen opened two weeks ago. Walker said: "The first did well, but the new store has done really well and I'm looking for a third site in west London." {{NEWS }}

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