UK's Land Securities pays Lend Lease $1.1 bln for Bluewater stake

(Adds detail from Land Securities (LSE: LAND.L - news) statement)

By Lincoln Feast and James Davey

SYDNEY/LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - Britain's Land Securities has paid Australian property company Lend Lease Corp 656 million pounds ($1.1 billion) for a 30 percent stake in the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, southeast England, the companies said on Wednesday.

The British property group also acquired full asset management rights for the centre and 110 acres of surrounding land for 40 million pounds.

The overall net initial yield after expiry of rent-free periods is 4.1 percent, Land Securities said.

Bluewater's 1.8 million square feet of space is home to more than 330 retailers, cafes, bars and restaurants.

The deal leaves Lend Lease Retail Partnership with 25 percent of Bluewater, while M&G Real Estate and GIC own 35 percent. Asset managers Hermes and Aberdeen Asset Management (Other OTC: ABDNF - news) control 10 percent.

The deal increases Land Securities' exposure to the southeast of England.

Lend Lease said the disposal would boost its 2014 earnings by more than 45 percent. It said it expected a full-year net profit of between A$810 million ($761 million) and A$830 million and anticipated paying out 50 percent of net profit in dividends.

Consensus forecasts from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had pegged net income expectations at around A$536 million. ($1 = 0.5956 British Pounds) ($1 = 1.0639 Australian Dollars) (Editing by Stephen Coates and David Holmes)