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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