Building has asked a selection of winning people and firms from 2017’s Building Awards to predict the big opportunities, threats and surprises that we might expect to see in the coming 12 months.

Vince Clancy, chief executive, Turner & Townsend (Building chief executive of the year)

Opportunity knocks: The new sector deal holds great promise to deliver better collaboration.  Our sector is not renowned for R&D, but we have an opportunity to change that with this deal – building a world-class, exportable sector that competes on a global stage

Danger lurks: The biggest threat to the UK construction sector remains underinvestment.  The slender margins that some of our biggest firms operate under pose a huge risk to the whole supply chain unless we can improve productivity, and thereby profitability

Surprise surprise: The progress of modern manufacturing techniques in 2018 might surprise the industry.  We’ve seen huge appetite in the proposals for Heathrow’s off-site logistics hubs, and innovative construction methods are gathering pace in residential and commercial.  Support is growing for component-led design and we should all be engaged in the opportunities

Follow building.co.uk over the Christmas break to read more predictions for 2018