Adrian Portelli has teased an LMCT+ Petrol launch in Adelaide after his company was fined $40,000 over unlawful lotteries in South Australia.

Billionaire Adrian Portelli has launched a swipe at a South Australian politician while teasing expansion of his cut-price petrol empire.

The Block buyer offered politician Andrea Michaels a job to cover her legal costs, just months after his company was fined $40,000 over unlawful lotteries in the state.

“If you need a job to cover your legal costs, we’re hiring,” Mr Portelli wrote from his verified Instagram account.

The comment came after the LMCT+ Instagram account posted a graphic declaring: “Coming to Adelaide, SA. LMCT Petrol is on the way.”
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“They thought they could get rid of us out of SA … SOUTH AUSTRALIA FIRE UP, LMCT+ is coming back,” the post read.

The move marks Mr Portelli’s latest attempt to turn LMCT+ into a cost-of-living business spanning fuel, groceries and member discounts.

It also gives the Melbourne billionaire another national flashpoint after the first season of his renovation show My Reno Rules wrapped on Tuesday night.

Mr Portelli was found not guilty of nine charges relating to unlawful lotteries in South Australia.

His company Xclusive Tech, trading as LMCT+, was found guilty of 10 charges and fined $40,000.

Adrian Portelli wrapped Seven’s My Reno Rules on Tuesday night, months after cementing his national profile with a $15.03m sweep of The Block in 2024. Picture: Seven

South Australian politician Andrea Michaels was targeted by Adrian Portelli in a pointed Instagram comment after LMCT+ teased its Adelaide petrol move. Picture: Keryn Stevens.

The court was told prizes included cash, prestige cars and homes Mr Portelli had bought on The Block.

Magistrate Melanie Burton said there needed to be consequences, noting the business was a commercial enterprise and “not a charity”.

One insider said the Adelaide move would be seen by LMCT+ fans as Mr Portelli planting a flag in the state where authorities had tried to rein in the business.

“Adrian Portelli is f—king taking over Australia, and people need to start realising what they’re watching,” the insider said.

“The man told everyone exactly what he was going to do, and then he went out and bloody did it.

“To his fans, this is more than a petrol station. It’s Portelli planting a flag in the exact place where they thought they’d clipped his wings.”

LMCT+ Petrol customers have already flocked to Preston in Victoria, where cut-price fuel promotions sparked long queues and major online attention.

A concept image for the planned LMCT+ Tarneit site in Victoria, as Adrian Portelli expands his fuel and rewards business beyond Preston.

LMCT+ Petrol is already operating at Preston, where cut-price fuel promotions sparked long queues.

A Tarneit fuel site is also in the works, while the business has moved into supermarkets, with the first LMCT+ supermarket understood to be the IGA in Deer Park.

In that announcement, Mr Portelli told followers: “We’ve got the petrol up and running, pumping millions of litres a month, and now we’ve got the supermarket that’s about to drop.”

Online speculation has already turned to where the first Adelaide fuel site could land, with one commenter claiming a Marion Rd service station was “happening”.

Vanta Advisory buyer’s agent Alex Groh said Adelaide made commercial sense for LMCT+ as a fuel launch market because of its scale and relative affordability.

Vanta Advisory buyer’s agent Alex Groh said Adelaide made commercial sense for LMCT+ as a launch market.

“Adelaide is a strong market,” Mr Groh said.

“It’s a big population centre, with more than two million people, and we’ve seen a lot of investment flow there.”

Mr Groh said Marion Rd would be a logical corridor for a fuel operator if the site had the right exposure.

“Marion Rd is a quality, key arterial road,” he said.

“It depends on the exact area, but if it’s a prominent corner site, that makes sense.”
LMCT+ Petrol has not yet confirmed the site of the first petrol station in South Australia.

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Adrian Portelli has teased Tarneit as the next target in his LMCT+ petrol rollout, after his Preston site turned cheap fuel into a political flashpoint. Picture: Instagram/LMCT+

Adrian Portelli has teased Tarneit in Melbourne’s west as LMCT+’s next cut-price petrol target.

The move comes as his fuel empire prepares to push into Melbourne’s southeast.

It comes as LMCT+ Petrol told followers on Instagram: “Tarneit FIRE UP! Locked and loaded. We’re coming to the west.”
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Mr Portelli then jumped into the comments, writing: “South East we hear you.”

The mocked-up image appears to match the Shell service station at 380 Sayers Rd, Tarneit, next to Wyndham Village Shopping Centre.

The centre directory shows the service station sits beside a major suburban retail mix including Coles, Aldi, Chemist Warehouse, Specsavers, Jetts 24 Hour Fitness, Commonwealth Bank, Vodafone, Subway, a medical centre and food court.

LMCT+ has not confirmed whether that specific Sayers Rd site is the next petrol station or when the Tarneit operation would open.

Wyndham Village Shopping Centre in Tarneit is home to Coles, Aldi, Chemist Warehouse, Specsavers, Jetts, food outlets and a Shell service station. Picture: Supplied

Adrian Portelli told followers LMCT+ Petrol was “coming to the west” as he flagged Tarneit and Melbourne’s southeast in his fuel push. Picture: Instagram/adrian_portelli Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

But Mr Portelli’s video made clear the latest tease was focused on fuel.

“When the higher ups throw stones, you pick up bigger ones and you throw them back,” he said.

“Let’s go, baby. Tarneit.

“Tarneit, fire up. We are coming. We are coming LMCT+ Petrol. We coming to the west, baby.

“And southeast, we haven’t forgotten about you. We’ve got something special about to drop as well.”

The post triggered a wave of suburb requests from followers keen for Mr Portelli’s members-only fuel model to spread beyond Preston.

“GC next please,” one follower wrote.

Another commented: “Now it’s time to come to Sydney.”

The Shell service station on Sayers Rd, Tarneit, sits beside Wyndham Village Shopping Centre in one of Melbourne’s fastest-growing suburban corridors. Picture: Supplied

LMCT+ posted this mocked-up image of a Tarneit petrol station with a fuel board showing 91 unleaded at 99.9c a litre. Picture: Instagram/LMCT+

The Tarneit clue marks the latest step in Mr Portelli’s push to turn LMCT+ into a suburban essentials empire spanning petrol, groceries, drinks and paid memberships.

His Preston petrol station has become one of Melbourne’s most-watched retail sites after heavily discounted offers, including fuel as low as 49.99c a litre, drew huge queues, police attention and questions in state parliament.

The Preston site has since continued changing prices, including cutting diesel below $2 a litre after drivers asked for a better deal.

Mr Portelli has also said strong shop sales were helping offset fuel losses, revealing his signature drink Flipside’s sales at the one-month-old Preston site had hit 22 per cent of the drink’s sales across 752 7-Eleven stores.

LMCT+ Petrol launched in Preston with cut-price fuel that drew huge queues, police attention and questions in state parliament before the Tarneit tease. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

LL Tax and Accounting director Louie Loizides said cheap fuel could help drive motorists into LMCT+ memberships and higher-margin shop sales. Picture: Supplied

LL Tax and Accounting director Louie Loizides previously said the cheap petrol push could work as a customer-acquisition play if it pushed motorists into memberships, drinks and higher-margin shop sales.

“You’re going to be brought in by a low cost of petrol, which is fantastic,” Mr Loizides said.

“But the idea as well is you’re going to start buying other things, other products that the station is selling, your chips, your chocolates, whatever it might be.

“Plus, he’s got that membership fee coming in too.”

Vanta Advisory business owner and ALBA Commercial partner Alex Groh said the LMCT+ model could make servos look more like retail destinations. Picture: Supplied

Vanta Advisory business owner and ALBA Commercial partner Alex Groh previously said Mr Portelli’s model could make investors look at a petrol station less like a fuel site and more like a retail destination.

“If they’ve got a really good convenience model, and they’re less reliant on petrol and can pivot easily when the time comes to electric, I think it’s certainly more attractive to commercial investors,” Mr Groh said.

But Mr Groh said the model would be hard for other fuel operators to copy because it relied heavily on Mr Portelli’s personal brand.

“I think it’s quite unique what he’s done,” he said.

“He leveraged a very, very strong personal brand.”

Mr Portelli has said strong Flipside drink sales at Preston were helping offset cheap fuel losses and build the broader LMCT+ retail model. Picture: Instagram/LMCT+

The Tarneit clue comes after Mr Portelli revealed his planned LMCT+ supermarkets would be folded into the company’s existing $99 petrol saver membership, which is set to be renamed the “Everyday Saver” membership.

The company’s first supermarket is understood to be IGA Deer Park, after distinctive interiors from the Hatchlands Drive store appeared in Mr Portelli’s reveal video.

The latest tease puts Tarneit firmly in the frame for LMCT+ Petrol, with Melbourne’s southeast also next on the cheap fuel map.

LMCT+ has been contacted for comment.

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