Au Naturale 'to continue trading'

THE administrator of interiors chain Au Naturale has insisted it will continue trading and staff will be paid at the end of the month.

PricewaterhouseCoopers confirmed Graham Martin and Jeremy Webb had been appointed as joint administrators of Internacionale, the parent company of Au Naturale.

Mr Martin said the company had suffered financial problems for the past nine months, but added: "We plan to continue trading at the 59 stores with the existing staff. We have told employees they will be paid at the end of the month as usual."

Almost 800 jobs were put at risk when Au Naturale fell into the hands of administrators last night.

The 59 remaining branches, mostly sited in Scotland, are under the control of PricewaterhouseCoopers.