With the stamp duty holiday ending in April, new data from AnyVan shows home removals surged by 76% in March 2025 compared to the previous year, as buyers raced to complete before the tax break vanished.
The pressure on the property chain was intense, with conveyancers, councils, and moving services in high demand. While the risk to buyers failing to meet the deadline faced potentially thousands in extra costs, or missing out on their dream move altogether, Cardiff stood out for getting deals done under pressure.
AnyVan, who handled over 300,000 moves last year, found huge regional differences in success rates, and Cardiff was among the best at beating the deadline crunch.
The UK buyers that beat the clock
Cheshire West and Chester top the list of places where home movers secured their desired move date, with 93% completing in time to save on stamp duty tax. Cardiff came in close behind with 90% of moves making it across the line, in happy news for local home owners.
Cities like Cardiff and Glasgow benefit from a higher density of solicitors and removal services, so seem to have also been better positioned to handle the last-minute surge in demand. Elsewhere, shorter property chains, cash buyers, or second-home ownership may have played a part, allowing for more flexibility in move dates.
10 Regions With Highest Home Removal Completion Rate
| Region | Completion rate | |
| 1 | Cheshire West and Chester | 93% |
| 2 | Glasgow | 92% |
| 3 | Bournemouth and Poole | 92% |
| 4 | Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham | 91% |
| 5 | Redbridge and Waltham Forest | 91% |
| 6 | Brighton and Hove | 91% |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 90% |
| 8 | Cardiff | 90% |
| 9 | Hertfordshire | 89% |
| 10 | London | 89% |
Flexibility key as stamp duty deadline divides UK movers
While more people completed moves in March 2025 than the year before, AnyVan also saw a rise in last-minute edits to move dates, and cancellations as some movers saw their move fall through. Unfortunately, movers in Mid Kent, which had the lowest completion rate at 76%, followed by Lincolnshire (78%) and Cheshire East (79%), led the tables in those left disappointed, and now either face higher fees, or potential collapse of the chain.
Moves fall through for a range of reasons each year, which is why AnyVan offers customers free cancellations or changes to their booking up to 48 hours before the move date, giving customers vital flexibility when plans change.
10 Regions With Lowest Home Removal Completion Rate
| Region | Completion rate | |
| 1 | Mid Kent | 76% |
| 2 | Lincolnshire | 78% |
| 3 | Cheshire East | 79% |
| 4 | Somerset | 79% |
| 5 | Essex | 80% |
| 6 | Buckinghamshire | 80% |
| 7 | Durham | 80% |
| 8 | Wiltshire | 80% |
| 9 | North Nottinghamshire | 80% |
| 10 | Suffolk | 81% |
Angus Elphinstone, owner of AnyVan, commented: “Moving to a new home is always both highly exciting and stressful, and things like these deadlines raise those emotions further. With the largest network of removal teams nationwide we’re really pleased we were able to make thousands of last-minute moves happen, but hearing some of the calls where people saw their moves fall through is also heartbreaking, especially for those where the stamp duty is the difference between being able to afford a home, or not.”
Angus started AnyVan in 2009 to make moving easy and affordable, while halving the number of wasted miles travelled by vans. He continues: “In April we’re seeing things return to normal, but there’s still a lot of moves taking place ahead of the Easter holidays as some savvy buyers chose to complete their purchase before the deadline but move after.”
To see more removal information, including the cheapest days to move in Cardiff, visit https://www.anyvan.com/removals/removals-cardiff.
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About AnyVan
- AnyVan is the UK’s largest removals and delivery platform, making moving home easier, more affordable and carbon-neutral.
- AnyVan connects customers with trusted, local transport providers in Cardiff, offering unbeatable prices on home moves of all sizes, from every corner of the country.
- AnyVan was started in 2009 by Angus Elphinstone when he discovered that 50% of vans on the road were travelling half empty. He realised that filling those empty vans would create cheaper delivery costs and it would be better for the environment.
- AnyVan has helped over 3 million people move their homes and belongings to date, and is the UK’s only carbon-neutral removals and delivery company, saving 8,520 tonnes of carbon annually.
- Get a quote instantly at anyvan.com and we’ll match you with one of our teams of local movers.
Data sources
- AnyVan database of over 105,000 home removal jobs completed in the UK from March 2024 to March 2025, inclusive
- TwentyCi Property & Homemover – End of Year 2024 Report