The Confederation of Construction Clients held talks with the government this week over its financial problems.
Building revealed last week that the clients' representative body was about to ask the government for money to consolidate its position.

The DTI called in the CCC on Wednesday for talks on the body's financial position and how construction clients could have greater representation.

A DTI spokesperson said: "The meeting is to develop the CCC's role as part of the strategic forum for construction and how it is possible to widen the representation of clients within the forum."

However, an industry insider said the CCC would probably have to affiliate to other bodies, such as the British Property Federation, to obtain funds.

He said: "The problem is the CCC does not have any money and the worry is that its members are large repeat owner-occupier clients."