Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt today announced that Broadgate in the City of London would not be listed, paving the way for a new 700,000 sq ft headquarters for UBS.

A listing for Broadgate had threatened to derail plans for the £340m building to be built on the estate by owners British Land and Blackstone.

In a letter to English Heritage, which had recommended a listing for Broadgate, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: “[The Secretary of State] has concluded that Broadgate phases 1-4 is not of sufficient architectural or historical interest to merit listing protection under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.”

The new UBS HQ, designed by Ken Shuttleworth, drew fierce criticism from Sir Stuart Lipton of Chelsfield PPartners, one of the original developers of Broadgate in the 1980s.

Chris Grigg, British Land chief executive said: “I am delighted by today’s decision as it allows Broadgate to continue to evolve as a sustainable and flexible office location that will meet the future needs of occupiers whilst maintaining the sense of space and place for which it is rightly renowned around the globe. With the decision made today by Jeremy Hunt, the Government has also sent out a message loud and clear to the world that the UK is ’open for business.”