Aurrigo Regulatory News (AURR)

21 Mar 2007 07:02

Aurora Russia Limited21 March 2007 March 21, 2007 Kreditmart, Aurora Russia Limited's second investment, announces first branch opening and first customer approvals Kreditmart, a financial services broker specializing in mortgage and consumerfinance products, announces today the opening of its first branch and theapproval of its first mortgage customers. Kreditmart was founded in September 2006 with a GBP 12.5 million investment byAurora Russia Limited ("Aurora Russia"), the AIM-quoted investment vehicleestablished to make equity or equity-related investments in small and mid-sizedprivate companies in Russia. Aurora Russia owns 100% of Kreditmart (85% aftermanagement options have been granted). The branch is located at 29 Gogolevskiy Boulevard in the centre of Moscow and isthe first of 10 branches that Kreditmart is planning to open in 7 Russianregions during 2007. The format of each branch will be that of a loansupermarket, a concept that is still new to the Russian market, where thecustomer can have his/her credit capacity assessed and choose from the bestcredit solutions in the market offered by Kreditmart's bank partners andfinancial partners. Kreditmart has already approved its first customers for financing and isbuilding a pipeline of additional customers seeking mortgage and consumerfinance. Nikolay Korchagin, Kreditmart's General Director, commented on the opening:"We are bringing the one-stop loan supermarket concept to the Russian market,whereby our customers can have all of their financing solutions and insuranceproducts tailored to their needs in one place. This is a concept that isrevolutionary for the Russian market and we believe it will provide an excellentcompetitive advantage." James Cook, a Director of Aurora Russia, said:"Kreditmart has reached its first milestone - operations roll-out. It has astrong and experienced team with solid experience of implementing revolutionaryconcepts and now has the required infrastructure in place to begin its branchroll-out. The Russian mortgage market is set to double in 2007 and, according toresearch by Alfa Bank, will reach at least $17 billion by the end of the year.We are well-positioned through Kreditmart to tap into this growth." Kreditmart now employs 38 people who have joined the company from a number ofleading consumer finance banks and institutions in Russia. The Kreditmartmanagement team's track record includes several successful projects in Russiasuch as DeltaBank, the pioneer of credit cards in Russia (acquired by GEConsumer Finance in 2004), DeltaCredit, the pioneer of mortgages in Russia(purchased by Societe Generale in 2005) and DeltaLeasing, Russia's leadingprovider of equipment and automobile fleet leasing (now Europlan). Enquiries Aurora Russia LimitedJames Cook, Moscow +7 495 644 1662John McRoberts, London +44 20 7839 7112 Financial Dynamics +44 20 7269 7132Ed Gascoigne-PeesFelicity Murdoch Notes to editors: About Kreditmart Kreditmart is one of the first Russian credit supermarkets. It was founded inSeptember 2006 when Aurora Russia invested GBP 12.5 million in the project.Aurora Russia owns 100% of Kreditmart (85% after management options have beengranted). For more information please visit www.kreditmart.ru About Aurora Russia Aurora Russia floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the London StockExchange on 24 March 2006 (LSE AIM: AURR). The Company was established to makeequity or equity related investments in small and mid-sized private Russiancompanies focused on the financial, business and consumer services sectors. In addition to Kreditmart, Aurora Russia has to date invested GBP 5.1 millionfor a 40.31% stake in Whitebrooks Investments Limited (37.1% fully diluted), theholding company of the OSG Records Management group of companies which is theleader in the Russian records management market. Aurora Russia has alsocommitted to invest GBP 10.4 million for a 26% stake in Unistream Bank, a leaderin the Russian money transfer market. For more details, please visitwww.aurorarussia.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange