Controversial billionaire Adrian Portelli’s first LMCT+ petrol station has opened to motorists, offering discounted fuel to club members — and an expletive-laden challenge to one radio host.
The discount club and giveaway platform launched its inaugural petrol station in the Melbourne suburb of Preston on Thursday morning, offering drivers unleaded petrol for $0.99 a litre.
Unlike other petrol stations, the Plenty Road site is only open to members of the LMCT+ platform, which costs between $20 and $100 a month, or subscribers to a new fuel-only membership.
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The latter membership is priced at $99.99 and grants access to fuel at ‘wholesale’ prices for 12 months.
With other nearby petrol stations selling unleaded for about $2 a litre, members on the $99.99 plan would need to buy more than 100 litres of fuel at $0.99 — about two average tanks’ worth — to come out ahead.
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But the introductory period won’t last forever.
Speaking to ABC Radio on Thursday morning, Portelli said the business would run at a loss while offering fuel for $0.99 per litre, but “we do have that in mind, to run a business, a profitable one”.
In that same interview, Portelli denied the business was exploiting motorists in a moment of considerable economic turmoil, caused by the Iran war and its effect on global oil supplies.
“I definitely don’t make money running petrol at this cost,” he said.
Portelli defends brand in fiery interview
Before its splashy entry into the petrol market, LMCT+ built its reputation by offering discounts at selected retailers, and, perhaps more notably, through its high-profile giveaway schemes.
Membership and purchases made through LMCT+ grant users an ‘entry’ to those events, which Portelli brands as trade promotions.
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Portelli’s business this year paid fines of $40,000 in South Australia after a court found it guilty of unlawfully running lotteries. Portelli himself was found not guilty on nine charges.
The 37-year-old hit back when ABC Radio host Raf Epstein asked if LMCT+ members get their money’s worth — and how signing up for LMCT+ is any different from using a pokie machine.
“Tell me what pokie is offering $100,000 in day-to-day savings?” he said.
And when asked if LMCT+ has a free tier, Portelli said, “Why would someone get a free membership? What fucking sense does that make?”
Costco an unlikely rival
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By offering fuel exclusively to members, the business has improbably become a rival to bulk-buy business Costco, which also retails petrol and diesel to its own members.
That operation now counts fuel stations at its 11 warehouse locations across Australia.
With one location and less than a day of operation in the sector, LMCT+ has a long way to go before meaningfully competing with Costco, the major fuel retailing chains, and established independents.
But Portelli said the business is already planning further expansion, saying LMCT+ will “soon” add grocery stores to its repertoire.
SmartCompany has contacted LMCT+ for comment.
