It was the announcement every employee dreads. At 11.30am yesterday staff working at CE Heath were called to a meeting to be told their offices would be closed by the end of the year. It marks the end of a relationship with the town spanning decades.

GRAHAM HUTSON, CARL EVE and KATY BEST look at the events leading to the closure.

Global players don't come much bigger than CE Heath Insurance Brokers.

Since it was established in 1877 the company has grown into a monster, and right now is the sixth largest broker in the world.

Basically, if it's worth anything, Heath could insure it. That includes the world's largest sea-going vessel of its day, the super tanker Cy Tung.

But why would a company so huge and successful suddenly shed 300 of its workforce and close its Southend operations altogether?

The fact is, the move was far from sudden - Heath merged with the Lambert Fenchurch Group on December 17.

"Obviously when there is a merger, these things happen," explained one former member of the management team.

It was on the cards, in other words. But with offices in Swindon, South Woodford and London, what really shocked the Southend staff was that management picked them.

Heath House, a ten-storey office block in Victoria Avenue, Southend, and one of the town's flagship buildings, is owned by the company. That fact alone led many employees to believe they would be spared by the reaper - if anyone was for the chop, it was going to be someone else.

"They were taken over in 1996," corrects the former manager. "There was a management buyout, and they were going to strip all the assets and sell them, so the chances are they will have sold the building anyway to raise some capital.

"They wanted to make some money, they weren't there to run an insurance broker.

At that time the workforce almost halved from around 600 to the 300 currently employed. So as far back as 1996 the future was beginning to look bleak for Southend jobs, merger or not.

But Heath House was well established, with a mature workforce. Staff turnover was low, and since the company came to the town in 1966, a community had developed within it.

"Husbands and wives work here, so for some people everything has gone," explained a member of staff.

In true 'get the most from your employees' style, Heath had laid on good staff facilities, both in and out of work. The social club in Wellstead Gardens was thriving, and many staff remained for decades. CE Heath had become their life.

"It's no reflection on Southend as a town or on the workforce," insists group chief executive David Margrett. He is quick to play down any reason for the closure other than the corporate line.

"Both companies which now form the group had separate offices. The amount of investment put in by Lambert Fenchurch was such that we should be continuing there.

"There are also 480 employees, and Swindon is a focal point for the branch and regional offices, but it is very tough, and it was not a decision the board took lightly.

"We are taking two companies in the same business and we have to make sure any duplications are dealt with quickly," continued Mr Margrett.

The sad truth is, the loss of 300 jobs in Southend is purely down to progress. Nothing else. People will take it personally, but they do.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.