Hotcha, the South West-based Chinese restaurant and takeaway chain, has announced ambitious plans to be the UK’s number one takeaway chain, after opening its eighth site in total.

The company, which is led by founder James Liang and has a turnover of c£1.5m, has opened a site at Regent Circus, in Swindon that it says will mark the start of its expansion along the M4 corridor.

It has appointed Smith & Williamson to seek sites to support its expansion plans, with further units in Weston-super-Mare and Yate already lined up.

Liang said: “We are delighted to be opening our first Swindon store which marks the start of our expansion along the M4 Corridor. I am confident it will be as successful as the others stores have been. These are seriously exciting times for Hotcha. We have ambitious growth plans and aim to be the number one takeaway chain in the UK in the next few years.”