Fitch Ratings has recently demoted the Russian LSR Group’s Issuer Default Rating in foreign currency as well as its priority rating from B+ to B. Then, both of these ratings are now on the Rating Watch and marked as Negative. The Group’s rating indicating the possible asset recovery on the company’s priority debt was affirmed at RR4.

LSR Ural Management Company comprises SMU Nova-Stroy, Betfor (the concrete goods manufacturer), Nova-Stroy, PKU Nova-StroyProekt, and Uralscheben.

‘The rating decrease shows that we expect LSR Group’s financial development indicators to be badly affected by the downfall on the domestic real estate and building materials markets; this downfall will probably last throughout the entire year 2009,’ Fitch Ratings reports.