A billionaire’s London residence was targeted by burglars twice within four days, with thieves making off with an estimated £1.25 million in jewellery, cash, luxury handbags, and designer clothes, a court has heard. The Knightsbridge townhouse, owned by Paul Coulson and situated near Buckingham Palace, was repeatedly broken into last December.
One of the alleged culprits, Ali Lamnouar, 46, was captured on CCTV entering the property with large holdalls on two occasions, specifically on December 5 last year, according to Southwark Crown Court. He was initially accused of being responsible for the theft of all the goods, valued at £1.25 million, which disappeared from Mr Coulson’s home.
But prosecutors later said they could only be sure he stole possessions such as jewellery, designer handbags and clothes valued at £163,835 when they realised the home had been burgled a second time just days later.
Lamnouar, who lives in Chelsea, has pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary – from Mr Coulson’s home and a raid worth just under £50,000 on another London property while the owner was inside.
Recorder Elliot Gold said he was identified over the burglary at Mr Coulson’s £8.7 million home thanks to CCTV from that night, on December 5 2025, and evidence from his mobile phone linking him to being in the area.
“Having visited it (the property), he returned into the view of the CCTV carrying large black holdalls with straps which he put on the pavement”, he said.
“CCTV shows him entering the property on two occasions carrying four holdalls.
“At the initial hearing of this matter on February 20, the case was opened by the prosecution on the basis that the value of the items stolen was £1.25 million.
“During the course of that hearing, it was said that the address had probably, between December 5–8, been burgled twice.”
Mr Coulson is the founder of the Ardagh group, a global packaging supplier, and is one of Ireland’s wealthiest people with an fortune valued in 2021 at 2.8 billion dollars.
The court heard stolen goods were found at Lamnouar’s home, including designer coats, dresses and jackets, as well as handbags by Prada, Chanel and YSL, including one valued at £14,000, a £4,500 Cartier love bracelet, pearl earrings, a £23,500 necklace, and a ring worth £29,000.
Lamnouar is set to be sentenced on April 30, after the judge agreed to adjourn the case for more inquiries into the exact value of the items he stole.
The court heard that the owner of the first property broken into by Lamnouar had been home when the raid took place, with watches valued at £38,000 stolen from a bedroom drawer along with around £10,000 in cash.
The judge said the victim, who was not named in court, had suffered the “distress of his home having been entered while he was present”.
“He needed to install additional security, but was relieved no confrontation had occurred”, he added.
Lamnouar was on bail for the first break-in when he carried out the raid on Mr Coulson’s home.
The judge said he already has 36 convictions for 76 offences on his record, including a string of burglaries dating back to the 90s.
Lamnouar was remanded in custody until sentencing.
