Former Beatles Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Star, Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher and Hollywood stars Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith were all married there.

The London Business School took over the iconic building on a 35-year renewable contract from Westminster Council in 2013 and will now restore the building to create a modern learning environment.

Wates’ work on the 123,000 sq ft project will include the part-demolition and the construction of a glazed link building between the Council House and Annexe building, plus the construction of new auditoriums .

Designed by Sheppard Robson, the project will include the conservation of the building’s early twentieth century period features and building a new three-storey building with six lecture theatres, 35 seminar rooms, a library, offices and faculty spaces and a student lounge.

Phil Shortman, managing director of Wates Construction London, said: “It’s an honour for Wates to be entrusted with the preservation of such an iconic landmark and we are very much looking forward to working with London Business School and Westminster City Council to breathe new life into this exceptional building.

“We have an excellent project team in place to apply their wealth of experience in the higher education and heritage sectors in order to deliver what will become a place of world-class research and learning.”