Published May 26, 2025 6:19pm
Updated May 27, 2025 3:11pm
A staff member at a Mayfair auction house ramraided by thieves over the bank holiday said that gallery workers have been left ‘shocked’ by the incident.
The raiders ploughed a car into the front of Phillips in Berkeley Square.
It is understood Phillips, where an auction of Damien Hirst’s work is set to take place on June 5, has round-the-clock security.
The worker told Metro: ‘It was a shock but everyone is ok.’
It is understood that the auctioneers had round-the-clock security, such is the value of the items it sells.
A local restaurant chef who saw the aftermath of the incident said the damage to the front of the building was extensive.
The chef told Metro: ‘It was pretty bad. It must have smashed through at speed. Someone would definitely have been hurt if they were in the way. It’s very brazen to do this in the middle of London.’
Detectives are trawling through CCTV footage from in and around the building as part of the investigation.
The frontage of the building was still boarded up on Tuesday.
A man who lives in a basement flat next to Phillips said: ‘There was a bang and a scrape of metal. The next thing I knew, police were on the scene.’
Photographs show one of the gallery’s glass doors shattered and lying on the pavement, with a blue Mercedes parked just outside.
Biggest ram-raids in British history
Thieves have plundered hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash and luxury goods over the decades.
The methods of the criminals has varied from armed robbery to ram raiding and tunnelling.
The largest heist in British history was a raid on the Securitas depot in Tonbridge in 2006 where a gang fled with £53m.
The Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Centre was robbed in 1987 with thieves stealing £40m. In 2009 a robbery at Graff’s jewellers saw £40m in jewellery and luxury items stolen.
Meanwhile the Brink’s-Mat diamond and gold robbery in 1983 was one of the largest and most notorious in British history.
Robbers stoke £26m worth of bullion and gems from a security firm warehouse near Heathrow. More recently in 2015 a group of thieves broke into a deposit vault in Hatton Garden.
The ageing thieves who planned the heist over three years stoke £14m worth of cash and jewellery as well as precious stones.
Six men were jailed for their role in the heist, which was carried out over a bank holiday weekend.
The vehicle has visible dents, with one of the headlights damaged.
Police have been unable to confirm if anything was stolen.
A witness said they saw the gallery had been taped off, with forensics teams on the scene.
The force told Metro: ‘Officers are investigating a suspected aggravated burglary at a commercial property in Berkeley Square, Mayfair at 4.14am on Monday.
‘A crime scene remains in place while initial enquiries are conducted.’
They added: ‘No arrests have been made at this stage.’
A Phillips spokesperson told Metro: ‘We are aware of the incident and are fully cooperating with the police as they conduct their investigation.
‘As this is an ongoing matter, we are unable to comment further at this time.’
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