Aurora Russia chairman retires to focus on charity

Sir Trevor Chinn, prominent City figure and adviser to CVC Capital Partners, has resigned from his role as chairman of Aurora Russia, the private equity investment vehicle listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market, having held the position since the company’s inception in March 2006.

Chinn, whose philanthropic experience includes work with the Variety Club of Great Britiain and Great Ormond Street Hospital, is stepping down in order to devote more time to his role as chairman of the Mayor’s Fund for London, the goal of which is to relieve poverty in the UK’s capital city.

Trevor Chinn

Chinn will be succeeded by Dan Koch, who joined Aurora as non-executive director earlier this month. Koch, a Russian resident, is currently chairman of Deloitte and Touche’s CIS operations.

John McRoberts, director at Aurora Investment Advisers, denied any suggestion that Chinn’s departure was connected to souring relations between Russia and the West, and insisted that the investment case for Russia is still compelling.

“The Russian market is still performing fairly well with strong underlying growth,” he told PEO.

Aurora Russia has invested a total of £63.51 million into five small- to medium-sized Russian companies since its listing in March 2006.

The firm’s net asset value stood at 114.1 pence per share at the end of March 2008. This represents a 4 percent increase since the beginning of the year and a 19 percent increase since the beginning of 2007.

At press time, Aurora’s share price was 74 pence, down from its 100 pence flotation price.