GI Partners set up 150 mln stg UK land venture-source

* Urban&Civic to target regional-scale UK estates

* First purchase is former WW2 airfield, to announce more

LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Transatlantic private equity house GI Partners has agreed to invest up to 150 million pounds ($252 million) in a real estate venture targeting land and estates in the UK, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. Urban&Civic, led by former Lend Lease Europe (LLC.AX) senior executives Nigel Hugill and Robin Butler, will acquire metropolitan or regional-scale sites with the potential for major redevelopment, it said in a statement.

The company has made its first purchase by paying 27.5 million pounds for the 1,100-acre former Alconbury Airfield in Cambridgeshire, a U.S. airbase during World War Two, and expects to announce further acquisitions in due course.

GI Partners had closed its third fund last month, raising $1.9 billion, and the fund will provide investment capital for Urban&Civic, it added. (Reporting by Daryl Loo and Sinead Cruise) ($1=.5960 Pound) (See www.reutersrealestate.com for the global service for real estate professionals from Reuters)