Money blog: Homebuyers rushing to sidestep rising stamp duty costs - but there's some respite for those who can't (2025)

Parliament's spending watchdog has blamed delays at the energy department for Britain's "world-beatingly high" prices.

Electricity bills in 2023 were the highest among 25 comparable countries, a Public Accounts Committee report found.

Consumers owed £3.7bn for gas and electricity in 2024, more than double the amount in 2021.

The news comes ahead of energy hikes on 1 April, when the price cap will rise by 6% to £1,849 per year for a typical household.

"The UK's electricity bills appear world-beatingly high and debt weighs down bill-payers' finances to an alarming degree," said the Conservative chairman of the committee, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.

The committee said the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has been slow to learn from past energy price spikes and cannot yet target support effectively.

Watch below: The impact of the latest energy bills increase

Some people who did not need help still received aid from the £44bn energy bill support schemes, it found.

"Despite repeated promises, the department has delayed taking action to rebalance energy prices by shifting the cost of environmental levies from electricity to gas," Clifton-Brown added.

The committee also criticised delays to a departmental review into how electricity prices are set for households - so they might pay cheaper rates if demand is low or when the weather means more energy is produced.

"This review has been running for three years and remains on an uncertain timetable, meaning it is unclear when consumers will start to see the benefits through reductions to their bills," said Clifton-Brown.

An energy department spokesperson said: "We will bring down bills for good by moving towards a clean, homegrown power system that we control.

"We are also rolling out support for consumers, including through proposals to expand the Warm Home Discount to almost three million more households next winter, and allocating £1.8bn of funding to create warmer, more energy-efficient homes across England."

The maker of blockbuster video games Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six is receiving a £1bn investment from China's most valuable company.

French game publisher Ubisoft has set up a new subsidiary unit valued at £3.3bn to run the franchises, which is now backed by Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent.

The move isexpected to be completed before the end of this year, said Ubisoft.

Shares in the company jumped up by 7.2% following the announcement.

Tencent President Martin Lau said: "We see the immense potential for these franchises to evolve into long-term evergreen game platforms and create engaging new experiences for gamers."

Santander has become the first major UK lender to loosen lending rules, allowing homebuyers to borrow up to £35,000 more on a mortgage, according to reports.

The bank has relaxed affordability rates by 0.75%. These stress tests check if borrowers can afford their loans if interest rates were to rise.

Customers applying for a residential mortgage could borrow between £10,000 and £35,000 more than yesterday.

The move follows calls from financial regulators for banks to be more flexible.

Chris Barry, a director at the conveyancing firm Thomas Legal, told the Financial Times it was a "sensible move" but there will be "some nervousness from those who remember 2008".

"However the banks now have much stricter regulations around debt-to-deposit ratios to prevent banks getting into real trouble," he said.

By James Sillars, business and economics reporter

It's the end of another week in which global trade wars have dominated financial markets.

As such, there's caution going into the weekend with few investors prepared to take on much in the way of risk in case of further developments, or should I say threats, emanating from the White House.

The FTSE 100, like its main rivals across European capitals, was down at the open.

The index was trading at 8,662 - a fractional fall - while the German DAX and CAC in Paris saw more intense declines.

That's likely a consequence of the EU facing the prospect of even harsher tariffs next week than those threatened against the UK.

Carmakers, and other listed firms that produce car parts, have suffered particularly over the past 24 hours.

In London, shares in WH Smith fell by more than 1% after it confirmed the sale of its high street business to Modella Capital for an enterprise value of £76m.

The decline may reflect disappointment over the sum as net cash proceeds will total only £25m.

Homebuyershave just days left to complete deals before being hit with thousands of pounds in extra stamp duty costs.

From 1 April, "nil rate" stamp duty discounts forhomebuyerswill shrink, which Barclays estimates will cost people £6,512 in additional fees on average.

Among the changes, first-timebuyerswill start paying stamp duty on the value of property beyond £300,000 rather than £425,000.

Other buyers will see their zero rate threshold halve from £250,000 to £125,000.

In February, Zoopla calculated that the proportion of first-timebuyers who will need to pay stamp duty - which applies in England and Northern Ireland - will double.

"More than half a millionhomesare currently going through the process of legally completing," said Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove.

"Homemovers who are in England, and still have a chance to beat the 31 March stamp duty deadline, will be rushing to finalise their paperwork, and doing all they can to avoid paying higher tax charges from April."

Who will be impacted most by changes?

The most affected will be first-timebuyersin higher-priced areas of southern England, where some could pay up to £11,250 more.

Less than one in 10 homeson the market in London are priced under £300,000, compared to 27% under £425,000, according to Rightmove.

By comparison, in the North East of England, 74% ofhomesfor sale will be under the 1 April threshold, down from 87%.

Hannah Wright, head of new business at Taylor Rose, said solicitors are "working around the clock" to ensure completions can take place before the end of March.

Law firm Taylor Rose said it has seen conveyancing instructions nearly double in the first two months of this year, compared with the same period a year earlier.

Failing to meet the deadline? There is some respite

There may be some consolation from some lenders launching mortgage deals with cash sweeteners.

Yorkshire Building Society is offering first-timebuyersup to £6,250 cashback, and Nottingham Building Society is offering buyers up to £5,000 in cashback.

Skipton Building Society has also launched a new cashback range.

WH Smith has agreed to sell its UK high street chain to Modella Capital in a deal valuing it at £76m, the company has announced.

The 500-store chain will eventually rebrand as TGJones, it said.

Modella Capital owns Hobbycraft and The Original Factory Shop, and is vying to acquire a controlling stake in Lakeland.

The deal comes after total WH Smith sales on the high street dropped 6% in the 21 weeks to 25 January, down 3% on a like-for-like basis.

The sale does not include the retailer's travel locations, such as shops in airports and train stations – nor the WHSmith brand.

These shops delivered an "excellent performance" in the same 21-week period, according to the group, with like-for-like sales up 6%.

For much of the country, it's payday today - not that anyone will need reminding.

What may have drifted from memory is the fact that the last two paydays have been plagued by IT issues at major banks.

The good news is that it's looking calm so far this morning.

However, a banking technology expert has told Sky News' Sarah Taafe-Maguire that there will be more outages in future.

Paul Taylor, chief executive of bank technology company Thought Machine, said he's aware of there being tech issues on payday going back years. Whether they make the news regularly is a different matter.

Check out his full warning and what the banks say in the story below.

Time is running out for drivers of electric vehicles in the UK to act - or risk missing the opportunity to secure another year of free road tax.

Drivers of fully electric vehicles registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 have had free road tax as part of an incentive to help drive the transition to zero-emission cars.

But things are set to change from next Tuesday (1 April 2025) with this exemption coming to an end, meaning all electric vehicles already on the road will be subject to the standard annual Vehicle Exercise Duty rate of £195 - in line with petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles.

"By simply renewing your road tax before the deadline, you can secure another 12 months of road tax for nothing," Sam Sheehan, motoring editor at Cinch, said.

"For EV drivers that act quickly, this is a big cost saving that will help keep their annual motoring costs down for another year."

Sheehan said the road tax renewal process was straightforward, with drivers having to enter their 11-digit reference number from their car's logbook on the government website.

"Don't get caught out," Sheehan warned, adding: "The system will warn drivers about renewing early."

"That's because you'd actually have to pay twice until your original renewal date. However, this doesn't apply to EVs because currently road tax is free."

Every Friday, we take an overview of the mortgage market with industry experts and round up the best rates.This week,Rachel Springall, finance expert atMoneyfactscompare.co.uk, takes a look at the buy-to-let market.

The spring statement didn't bring any positive news for buy-to-let investors, but lenders have been dropping rates over recent weeks to attract new business.

Week-on-week, the overall average two-year fixed buy-to-let rates fell to 5.18%, while five-year rates fell to 5.40%.

Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said: "There has been much debate over the future of the buy-to-let market, with landlords in dismay over whether they can continue with their investment in property, and feeling ignored.

"The stamp duty surcharge on additional homes was increased to 5% and recent studies suggest there has been an exodus of landlords who have quit the private rental sector due to dwindling margins.

"In some more positive news, buy-to-let rates have been on a downward trend and the choice of deals rose to a record high."

The lowest buy-to-let rates above may carry both a flat product fee and an arrangement fee which is based on a percentage of the mortgage advance, so a Best Buy package could be more suitable if you are looking to save on the upfront cost of any deal.

You might also want a deal to cover a valuation or legal fees. A Best Buy buy-to-let mortgage could be the most cost-effective choice in this instance, but it's worth seeking advice before entering any arrangement.

Thanks for following our live coverage today as the Money blog followed the fallout of Donald Trump's latest tariffs announcement.

We'll be back tomorrow with our regular consumer and financial news and tips - as well as anything else that happens in Trump's trade war.

Before we go, here's a summary of goings-on today:

• The world has been reacting after Donald Trump announced new 25% tariffs on all imported cars to the US ahead of 2 April, a day he has called "liberation day";
• Leaders have condemned Trump's tariffs, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying the move is "bad for businesses, worse for consumers" while Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said the tariffs are a "direct attack";
• Meanwhile, British carmakers have pleaded with the UK and US governments to avoid the tariffs and strike a deal;
• Declines in car stocks pushed European shares to a two-week low, while shares of US automakers fell in after-hours trading;
• The European Union is preparing its "calibrated" response to the tariffs, which it insisted will be "timely" and "robust".