UPDATE 2-Hammerson in major UK, French retail prop. deals

* Hammerson in JV to buy UK Silverburn centre for $479 mln

* Buys French retail project with $645 mln development cost

* Hammerson shares up 0.2 pct

(Adds French buy, updates throughout)

By Daryl Loo

LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Anglo-French property investor Hammerson (HMSO.L) has revived its acquisition spree after a four-year lull, closing two major deals on Monday to buy a Scottish shopping centre and new retail developments in France.

The purchase of the Silverburn mall near Glasgow and up to five French retail projects, investments totalling about $1.1 billion, mark a major shift for the UK property firm, which has spent the past year rebuilding its balance sheet.

By 1200 GMT, shares of FTSE 100-listed Hammerson were up 0.2 percent, underperforming the FTSE's .FTSE 1.1 percent rise.

Hammerson, which owns 4.7 billion pounds ($7.7 billion) of real estate in the UK and France, last month said it planned a return to the construction site in 2010 as confidence rose in Europe's recovering property markets. [ID:nLR375982]

Earlier on Monday, Hammerson said it bought Les Terrasses du Port in Marseille, one of France's largest upcoming shopping centres, from Holland-based private developer Foruminvest.

As part of the transaction, it also acquired up to four other development projects in France at pre-planning stage, which could provide over 100,000 square metres of retail space.

"This acquisition provides an exciting opportunity for Hammerson to grow its French business and capitalise on the company's strong track record of retail-led urban regeneration projects," Hammerson Chief Executive David Atkins said.

The Les Terrasses du Port project has an initial capital commitment, including acquisition costs, of 50 million euros for the first six months, and an estimated total development cost of 450 million euros ($645 million), Hammerson said.

Enabling work on the 52,000 square metres project is expected to start in late 2010 and when completed, it will have 150 stores and 2,850 car parking spaces, and provide net rental income of a forecast 33 million euros, it said.

INTENSE BIDDING

Separately, Hammerson, one of the UK's largest shopping mall owners, said it won a bid battle for the Silverburn shopping centre, paying 297 million pounds ($479 million) in a joint venture with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

The Silverburn shopping centre had been the subject of intense bidding from property investors hungry for prime assets, with major UK players including London & Stamford (LSP.L) and British Land (BLND.L) putting in offers.

The commitment for each party is 148.5 million pounds and Hammerson said it will fund its portion from existing bank facilities, which have a margin of 37.5 basis points over LIBOR.

Rents at Silverburn are estimated at up to 20 percent below current market rental levels of 140 pounds per square foot, offering opportunities to create value, said Hammerson, which will be the venture's asset manager.

"Given the 20 percent under renting, the use of cheap funding, the nice fit in the portfolio and management control, we believe Hammerson should be able to deliver good returns," JPMorgan property analyst Harm Meijer said.

Silverburn was offered for sale in September on behalf of financial services firm Deloitte, acting as receivers of the mall's holding vehicle The Elementary Property Company and Retail Property Holdings Limited, which owns the asset. [ID:nLB546660]

Gross rental income for the prime freehold, 93,000 square metre Silverburn mall is 18.4 million pounds, representing an initial yield of about 6 percent and an equivalent yield of 6.8 percent, Hammerson said. (Reporting by Daryl Loo; Editing by John Stonestreet and Andrew Macdonald) ($1=.6200 Pound) ($1=.6978 Euro) (See www.reutersrealestate.com for the global service for real estate professionals from Reuters)