Kreditmart first branch

Aurora Russia Limited 21 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 consumer finance products, announces today the opening of its first branch and the approval of its first mortgage customers. Kreditmart was founded in September 2006 with a GBP 12.5 million investment by Aurora Russia Limited ('Aurora Russia'), the AIM-quoted investment vehicle established to make equity or equity-related investments in small and mid-sized private companies in Russia. Aurora Russia owns 100% of Kreditmart (85% after management options have been granted). The branch is located at 29 Gogolevskiy Boulevard in the centre of Moscow and is the first of 10 branches that Kreditmart is planning to open in 7 Russian regions during 2007. The format of each branch will be that of a loan supermarket, a concept that is still new to the Russian market, where the customer can have his/her credit capacity assessed and choose from the best credit solutions in the market offered by Kreditmart's bank partners and financial partners. Kreditmart has already approved its first customers for financing and is building a pipeline of additional customers seeking mortgage and consumer finance. 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 insurance products tailored to their needs in one place. This is a concept that is revolutionary for the Russian market and we believe it will provide an excellent competitive advantage.' James Cook, a Director of Aurora Russia, said: 'Kreditmart has reached its first milestone - operations roll-out. It has a strong and experienced team with solid experience of implementing revolutionary concepts and now has the required infrastructure in place to begin its branch roll-out. The Russian mortgage market is set to double in 2007 and, according to research 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 of leading consumer finance banks and institutions in Russia. The Kreditmart management team's track record includes several successful projects in Russia such as DeltaBank, the pioneer of credit cards in Russia (acquired by GE Consumer Finance in 2004), DeltaCredit, the pioneer of mortgages in Russia (purchased by Societe Generale in 2005) and DeltaLeasing, Russia's leading provider of equipment and automobile fleet leasing (now Europlan). Enquiries Aurora Russia Limited James Cook, Moscow +7 495 644 1662 John McRoberts, London +44 20 7839 7112 Financial Dynamics +44 20 7269 7132 Ed Gascoigne-Pees Felicity Murdoch Notes to editors: About Kreditmart Kreditmart is one of the first Russian credit supermarkets. It was founded in September 2006 when Aurora Russia invested GBP 12.5 million in the project. Aurora Russia owns 100% of Kreditmart (85% after management options have been granted). For more information please visit www.kreditmart.ru About Aurora Russia Aurora Russia floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange on 24 March 2006 (LSE AIM: AURR). The Company was established to make equity or equity related investments in small and mid-sized private Russian companies focused on the financial, business and consumer services sectors. In addition to Kreditmart, Aurora Russia has to date invested GBP 5.1 million for a 40.31% stake in Whitebrooks Investments Limited (37.1% fully diluted), the holding company of the OSG Records Management group of companies which is the leader in the Russian records management market. Aurora Russia has also committed to invest GBP 10.4 million for a 26% stake in Unistream Bank, a leader in the Russian money transfer market. For more details, please visit www.aurorarussia.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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