Crews moved in this week to start tearing down the Dyce premises after housebuilder Malcolm Allan failed to find a tenant to cover the bill.

The Kintore-based firm faces a £110,000 annual rates bill for the three-storey premises in the Aberdeen suburb, despite having been unable to let it since December. Firms are required to pay full rates on properties empty for more than three months.

The revaluation used to calculate rates found the offices were worth nearly 10% more than in 2008.

The three-storey office block on the Pitmedden Industrial Estate in Dyce was built only 18 years ago and was home to a succession of North Sea outfits.

For months now however it has been among the growing number of corporate headquarters lying empty as the energy sector undergoes a major contraction.

Colin Wood, technical manager at Malcolm Allan, said: “The cost of demolition will be less than 12 months of rates.

“A contractor has been appointed. The main structure will be down within a month. Then we will look at any opportunities for redevelopment.”

He predicted the sight of buildings coming down would become increasingly familiar.

He said: “You can look around Aberdeen and see the various vacant buildings. I’m sure it has been going through all landlords’ minds.

“This may be one of the first but there are highly likely to be a lot more buildings to come. I have never come across this before.

“The Scottish Government and local authorities have come up with some short-term relief schemes – but nothing at all to give us confidence that this burden will be reduced in the long term.

“We have a number of buildings that are under-occupied. There are no others that we are looking at demolishing at the moment.

“But if the circumstances do not change then there will be more.”