Lend Lease has added another site to its bulging land bank, this time acquiring the GTV Channel Nine parcel in Melbourne's Richmond, where it plans to build a $400 million residential project.

The listed developer said yesterday that it had entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the 3ha parcel of land, at a price believed to be about $52m.

The deal is likely to attract the attention of credit rating agencies, with Standard & Poor's and Moody's recently putting Lend Lease's rating on negative credit watch, amid unease that its balance sheet would be overstretched.

The listed property group, which will report its half-year profit result today, has picked up about $10 billion worth of development deals over the past three months. Included in that pipeline of work is the $6bn Barangaroo urban regeneration development on the edge of the Sydney CBD.

In a statement earlier this week, Lend Lease said there were a number of options available to the group currently under consideration to fund its projects, including proceeds from asset sales, third-party capital, debt, cash and new equity.

Analyst expectations are that Lend Lease could reveal an equity raising, possibly between $500m and $1bn.

Unveiling the Melbourne deal yesterday, Lend Lease chief executive Steve McCann said: "The acquisition is in line with Lend Lease's strategy of securing prime inner urban sites in the key growth markets of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne."

He described the site as a "great acquisition for the business".

According to one source, the Channel Nine site transaction is to be undertaken on 12-month delayed settlement.

The redevelopment will be taken on by the group's apartment arm, Vivas Lend Lease. The transaction was negotiated by Colliers International's Rob Joyes.

Source: The Australian