interest from potential buyers for its Metropole and Princess hotels and, as a result, is delaying a planned flotation of the properties.

A Lonrho spokesman said both British and overseas parties have expressed interest in the hotels, with some looking at the entire group and others interested in parts of it. He said a decision on the future of the hotels is expected to be made by the end of September. The spokesman declined to comment on the identity of the bidders.

Analysts said a range of British and American hotel operators were likely bidders for the British Metropole chain and the Princess chain of five-star resort hotels.

Analysts have estimated that a public offering of the Metropole and Princess hotels would bring a market valuation of about 700 million ($1.10 billion).

Companies that might be interested in acquiring the whole operation include Millennium & Copthorne, whose own portfolio includes hotels in both Britain and the United States. as well as the US-based chains Marriott, ITT Sheraton and Hilton.

Specialist resort operators in the United States might be interested in the Princess hotels, which includes resorts in Bermuda, Acapulco, the Caribbean and the United States. The Metropole might be attractive to British companies such as Stakis and Bass Plc, operator of the Holiday Inns, said Alex Kyriakidis, an analyst with Arthur Andersen.