Construction firms brace for recession as EU workers leave UK

In the final part of a series on the prospects for a downturn, the Guardian speaks to a construction firm owner in south London

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On a quiet residential street in the south London suburb of Sutton, Deepak Singh Udassi is overseeing the finishing touches to a renovation project of the type that has long been the bread and butter of his specialist loft conversion company.

As the final fittings to a luxury bedroom and ensuite bathroom are made over the next two weeks, the scaffolding and skip will disappear from outside a mid-Victorian semi owned by a couple in their 50s. Rather than moving, they have decided to maximise its value by spending 65,000 on a loft conversion, one of the totems of the streetscape during Britain's last boom.

Related: UK construction industry suffers worst month in a decade

Number employed in sector: 2.9 million