ARCHITECTS and surveyors in York have won a contract to look over 20 offices of the Co-operative Society Insurance Services, searching for signs of wear and tear.

The York office of the LHL Group is studying the state of the offices across the North of England and Wales for property investment company Warner Estate Holdings.

Having taken over the leases, Warner wants to make sure that it has an inventory of what is needed to revamp the offices and bring them up to scratch.

The contract was awarded by Principal Leasehold Properties (PLP) in London, acting for Warner, and it wants the work completed within weeks.

Dilapidations surveys and associated specification and project management of refurbishment work are already underway at the offices which include suites in Colwyn Bay, Crewe, Chesterfield, Grimsby, Sheffield, Halifax, Leeds and Skipton.

It amounts to one of the biggest and most diverse contracts of this type carried out by LHL Group.

All the surveys, part of 105 being carried out nationwide by Warner Estate Holdings, have to be completed in weeks, and agreed refurbishment work must be finished before the end of the autumn, because some leases are about to expire and some offices may be sub-let. PLP, which manages leasehold stock on behalf of Warner Estate Holdings, commissioned the dilapidations surveys after the Co-operative Insurance Services offices were acquired by Warner Estate Holdings in December, 2005.

The insurance company had already left the properties and the acquisition meant that Warner Estate Holdings became the tenant with leasehold responsibilities.

Chris Waters, LHL's group director said: "Under the terms of the leases acquired by Warner Estate Holdings, the company has to respond to a dilapidations claim from the landlord when the lease expires, either by carrying out necessary repairs beforehand or making cash settlement in lieu of such works."