Bermuda-based Sea Containers has yesterday announced it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the first move to float its prestigious rail and hotel chain the Orient Express.

The initial public offering of the luxury hotel chain is expected to raise $215 million which will be used to help pay off debt to Sea Containers.

Sea Containers, which is based in Hamilton, Bermuda, announced today that it had filed a registration statement providing for the sale of shares to the public with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 26, 2000 for Orient Express Hotels Ltd. According to the company's quarterly report, the IPO should be launched in July on the New York Stock Exchange.

In the same report Sea Containers said it had been purchasing limited amounts of public debt in the open market and that it was `the company's present intention' to conduct an initial public offering of its leasure section.

Revenues for the last quarter for the leisure part of Sea Containers was listed as $10.6 million compared to $9.4 million for the same period the year before.

In 1999 the operating profits of the Sea Containers's subsidiary was up $15.3 million or 31 percent to $64.8 million and sales stood at $253 million.

In the same year the Sea Containers group revenue was just $1.3 billion, with pre tax profits standing at $66.6 million - just over what the leisure division makes on its own.

The sale is expected to reduce large debt at Sea Containers and boost the share price which has fallen considerably from its 52 week high of $39.00 and has lost almost half of its worth from two years ago.

Orient Express Hotels owns 26 hotels, six luxury train services, one cruise ship and two restaurants. These include not only the Orient Express route, but also the Windsor Court in New Orleans, Hotel Cipriani in Venice, 21 Club in New York,