Adrian Portelli teases second LMCT+ fuel station: Hopes for 100 sites

To much fanfare, billionaire Adrian Portelli opened the doors of his first petrol station to his rewards clubs members last week as part of a bid to disrupt the fuel industry. And another in Melbourne’s west may be on the way.

Launching his first fuel station in Melbourne last week, billionaire Adrian Portelli reveals he is already eyeing a second site in the city’s west.

“I think I’ve just locked down another one in Melbourne, potentially in Tarneit,” he told realcommercial.com.au ahead of last Thursday’s opening of his first LMCT+ branded service station in Preston.

“Then we’ll try and do a big group deal to buy a group of petrol stations located all around Australia. Within the next 12-24 months, I hope to have upwards of 100.”

The Plenty Road site in Preston, about 10km north of the CBD, opened on Thursday to members only, offering $1 unleaded fuel to LMCT+ subscribers.

Existing subscribers of Mr Portelli’s rewards club automatically get access to discounted fuel, while a petrol-only membership is $99.99 annually and includes wholesale pricing.

The launch comes amid conflict in the Middle East, which has placed pressure on global fuel supplies and pushed oil prices higher. In response, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has halved the fuel excise for three months to cut prices by 26.3 cents per litre.

Despite this, Mr Portelli said he is not concerned about supply.

“I’ve been able to lock down nearly a million dollars’ worth of fuel and word on the street is that none of these supplies have missed any ships of fuel. From my end, it seems all good and ready to go.”

Adrian Portelli says the stacks of cash seen in his videos are real, revealing he uses up to $3m as a “prop” for filming. Picture: Instagram/LMCT+

Mr Portelli said he moved into fuel after failed attempts to strike deals with 7-Eleven – which stocks his energy drink brand – and United Petroleum, to give his members discounted petrol.

“I said: ‘I’m over this. I’m just going to start my own petrol station’.”

He said the move gives people discounted fuel at a time big players dominate.

“We thought petrol was an industry that has been untouched for decades. It’s just stagnant. It’s just a few key players, and we thought we’d shake it up a bit,” he said.

“It’s a blessing for us to launch in this time where there’s such a need for cheaper fuel. I’m happy to absorb some of the costs and give some savings back to people.

“People are living week to week and cost-of-living is at an all time high and to have this thrown in the works is really hitting the pockets of Australians.”

Drivers are flocking to Adrian Portelli’s Preston petrol site, with the discounted fuel offer tapping into cost-of-living pressures. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

For now, rebadging existing fuel sites will drive expansion.

“We’re negotiating, but it’s hard work getting sites, especially when they hear who’s trying to buy them – the price always doubles,” Mr Portelli said.

“We’re going into an industry where there’s big players with a lot of money, so we’re trying our best to lock down as many sites as we can.”

He said the business would eventually look to build sites from scratch and expand into convenience retail, including large sites where people can shop for daily essentials.

“Whether that be a mixture of service stations, supermarkets, all of that kind of stuff – but that’s down the track,” he says.

Last week’s fuel station launch also came amid growing controversy on subscription-giveaway sites such as LMCT+, where users pay a subscription fee with the lure of winning huge prizes.

Critics such as independent senator David Pocock said it’s akin to gambling, with little oversight on the age of sign-ups and the opaque nature of prizewinners and the terms and conditions.

Mr Portelli told the ABC there needs to be a crackdown on the unscrupulous providers.

Hundreds turned out for the grand opening of Adrian Portelli’s members-only petrol station on Wednesday night in Preston. Picture: Instagram/adrian_portelli

State of the service station sector

JLL Executive – Retail Investments, Dominic McGrath, said the Preston site “ticks a lot of the boxes” given its traffic exposure and strong road access, both key to a strong performing fuel station business.

He said petrol stations remain attractive to investors, backed by long-term leases, strong rental growth and increasingly solid tenants, on the heels of major acquisitions by groups such as Ampol, Viva Energy and 7-Eleven International over the past 18 months.

Viva Energy acquired the Coles Express network and OTR, while Ampol took over EG Australia, and 7-Eleven in Australia is now owned by 7-Eleven International.

Adrian Portelli has unveiled a $1 petrol plan as he takes on Australia’s fuel giants in a bold cost-of-living play. Picture: Adrian Portelli/LMCT+

“Between those, the covenant across all of those service stations – which make up a large portion of the entire market – have improved quite considerably,” Mr McGrath said.

“All these brands are still signing onto long term leases – whether they be 12 or 15-year leases. From that perspective, they are very good investments, they’ve got strong rental growth, they cover your outgoings. From an investment perspective, they’re very good.”

Investors are less focused on fuel sales alone and more on traffic exposure, zoning, rental growth, strong, reliable tenants and long-term site potential, he said.

“If you’re getting a prime site, it’s going to be very valuable 20 years down the track, when who knows what the site will be.”

JLL’s Dominic McGrath says investors are flocking to petrol stations for long leases and steady returns. Picture: JLL

Mr McGrath said operators are also looking to boost profitability by pivoting towards convenience retail offerings.

“Clearly Adrian knows that a strong convenience offering drives profits in the convenience store, but also allows you to sell more fuel where there’s still quite a strong margin for operators as well.”

He said that with entry prices ranging from around $3 million to more than $20 million, fuel stations offer compelling buying compared to fast food assets, which in recent years have seen yields compress despite also occupying similarly strategic sites, long term leases, and being underpinned by some of the world’s largest companies.