England Manager Fabio Capello signs a bus.

Some 300 staff will be transferring from National Express’s headquarters in Hagley Road, Birmingham, into new office accommodation above the bus station.

The project in Digbeth was almost derailed after the contractors went bust.

The revamp stalled after the collapse of Ashford Construction at the beginning of July. The work was re-started by Lincolnshire-based developer Spencer and staff pulled out all the stops to meet the December deadline.

The official opening comes two weeks after National Express warned that some job losses were on the way nationwide, with as many as 200 posts feared to be facing the axe.

The design of the coach station has won environmental plaudits for diverting rain water into the toilet cisterns and sinks and for having a roof covered in sedum plant which offers a nesting place for the rare birds, black redstarts.