Estate agents stayed up all night last night as wealthy people panic-bought mansions. Seriously

Many of London’s estate agents and solicitors stayed open all night last night as wealthy people snapped up high-end property in the capital.

Yesterday, George Osborne announced an overhaul of the stamp duty system, meaning buyers of some of London’s more expensive properties would end up paying tens of thousands more in tax.

Property deals were frantically pushed through last night before midnight, when the chancellor’s changes came into effect.

Jamie Lester, founder of Fulham’s Haus Properties told the Telegraph: “We’ve had a number of last minute attempts to exchange as a result of today’s changes including one at £980,000, saving the purchaser £2,550 and one at £2m, which saved the purchaser £55,000 – the lawyer of the latter had to cancel his wedding anniversary plans in order to get the deal done.”