A MILLIONAIRE nightclub owner who had close links with TOWIE stars has been shot dead while driving his car in Marbella.

Marco Yaqout was shot 12 times as he drove his UK-plated Bentley into his garage outside his stunning Marbella villa.

Police believe the killer was hiding behind a wheelie bin outside the businessman's property in San Pedro de Alcantara, when he shot him around 3am on January 22.

Video footage taken at the scene showed Marco's left-hand-drive Bentley covered with bullet holes.

Marco, 49, whose real first name is thought to be Abdelhadia, owned five well-known nightclubs in swanky Puerto Banus, including the TOWIE favourite, Linekers and TIBU, where Mark Wright hosted a boat party and club night in 2014.

The TOWIE crew are often seen in the posh venue.

Lina Hodgkins, who appears on ITV Be’s Life On Marbs, and is now a marketing manager at Linekers Group in Puerto Banus, posted a picture of her and Marco on social media alongside the dead man which said: "The phone call at 5am this morning will stay with me for ever.

"My boss of 14 years Marco was killed. We argued like husband and wife over the years.

"Today remembering the good times of which there were many. Heartfelt sympathy to all the family. God bless."

One of his friends, told the Sun: "He was one of three business partners known as the men who ran most of Banus.

"They were key players in the Banus nightlife scene.

"Everyone knew Marco. That’s why people have been stunned by this killing because it takes it to another level.

"If it is an escalation of what’s been going on and someone is having a crack at the nightclub scene, then it’s very worrying."

Police have not made any arrests at this stage.