Irish billionaire’s London home burgled twice in four days for valuables worth €1.45m

Paul Coulson, chairman of Ardagh Group, rings the opening bell at the group's listing day at the New York Stock Exchange in New York on March 15, 2017. File picture

An Irish billionaire’s London home was burgled twice in the space of just four days with thieves getting away with jewellery, cash, luxury handbags and designer clothes worth an estimated £1.25m (€1.45m), a court has heard.

Paul Coulson’s Knightsbridge townhouse, which is close to the grounds of Buckingham Palace, was broken into repeatedly in December last year.

One of the culprits, Ali Lamnouar, 46, was caught on CCTV twice entering the property with large holdalls to load up with valuables on December 5 last year, Southwark Crown Court heard.

He was initially accused of being responsible for stealing all of the goods, valued at £1.25 million (€1.45m), which went missing 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 (€188k) 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 (€58k) on another London property while the owner was inside.

Recorder Elliot Gold said he was identified over the burglary at Mr Coulson’s £8.7m (€10m) 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 (€1.45m).

“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 $2.8bn (€2.4bn).

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 (€16k), a £4,500 (€5.1k) Cartier love bracelet, pearl earrings, a £23,500 (€27k) necklace, and a ring worth £29,000 (€33.5k).

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 (€43.7k)stolen from a bedroom drawer along with around £10,000 (€11.5k) 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.