REGENERATION company Renaissance Southend will close at the end of the year.

Bosses decided to wind the five-year-old company up after anticipating that they would receive no more funding after March 31 next year.

Renaissance Southend will effectively stop operating on December 31 but will not officially close until the end of the financial year.

Mike Lambert, company chief executive, said: “The team at Renaissance Southend are rightly very proud of what has been achieved.

"We still have a significant work programme to manage and will now focus on completing this with our various partners, as well as discussing with Southend Council the continuation arrangements for any projects that extend beyond this year.

"As these discussions develop over the next couple of months we will also be seeking to provide further clarification to all relevant external parties.”

*FULL STORY AND REACTION IN TUESDAY'S ECHO.