Billionaire Adrian Portelli Reveals Why He Moved to Dubai, His ATO Battle & Business Empire

Business Summary

Adrian Portelli describes LMCT+ as a membership-funded business built around a large audience, a network of merchant discounts, and high-profile prize promotions. He says the giveaways attract attention and members, while partner businesses benefit from the resulting traffic and sales.

His longer-term strategy is to extend the model into everyday spending categories such as fuel and groceries, where member savings can make the subscription more valuable.

Business Playbooks and Tactics

• Use technology to solve a specific problem, then adapt the business model. Portelli first built software that scanned car listings, compared prices with market valuations, and identified potential resale opportunities. It could assess roughly 200,000–300,000 listings in about 10 seconds. When dealers were reluctant to buy it, he marketed it to everyday car enthusiasts instead.
• Reduce sign-up friction when a brand is unproven. The initial car promotion required a membership, but Portelli says that deterred entrants. He changed to a one-time payment that offered time-limited software access, with membership as an option. He says this produced the company’s strongest sales day at that point. About 12–18 months after launch, as brand recognition grew, the business reintroduced subscriptions.
• Build trust by putting a person behind the brand. After initially keeping his social accounts and identity separate from LMCT+, Portelli tested advertising featuring his face. He says it worked well because it made the brand more relatable and helped accelerate trust.
• Turn promotions into an audience-growth engine. Portelli says the prizes are not the core business; they generate attention and bring people into the platform. The audience then creates value for partner businesses, which offer members exclusive discounts.
• Expand audiences deliberately through segmented campaigns. The company used different prizes to reach different groups: a Nissan GTR for car enthusiasts, later vehicles such as HSVs and classic cars for other age groups, then boats and motorbikes, and eventually houses to attract more women. When growth in car-related audiences slowed, it moved into new categories.
• Build the merchant network alongside the audience. LMCT+ initially cold-called and door-knocked to recruit businesses, then expanded through inbound interest. It negotiates discounts directly, responds to member requests, and adds online and regional offers where needed.
• Use promotions to create concentrated marketing moments. For a property promotion involving five houses, Portelli says his team prepared the website, filming, permits, and campaign before the auction. It opened the promotion as publicity for the associated TV show broke, and he says the investment was recouped in under 48 hours through subscriptions.
• Manage prize risk with alternatives. The company now buys properties outright, according to Portelli, and offers cash alternatives to prizes. He says this both reduces risk and broadens the appeal beyond people who want—or can afford to maintain—the specific prize.
• Disrupt established markets through value and visibility. Portelli’s stated approach is to use the LMCT+ audience and personal brand to bring customers to lower-cost offers while cutting out some intermediaries. He says he is prepared to compete with established suppliers rather than avoid them.
• Keep operations geographically distributed. He says only about 20% of LMCT+ staff are based in Australia, with development and other teams overseas. His rationale is that much of the software work does not need to be done in Australia and can support operations across time zones.
• Treat public activity as purposeful marketing. Portelli says his social posts and public appearances are generally calculated and have a business objective, rather than being posted simply to maintain an online presence.

Products and Expansion Plans

• Merchant rewards network: LMCT+ began with automotive-related partners and broadened into categories including pet food, housing supplies, furniture, and gym equipment.
• Fuel: Portelli says the fuel offer is intended to provide savings that help justify membership. He cited a potential average saving of about 20 cents per litre statewide, amounting to several hundred dollars a year for some members.
• Supermarket: He described plans for a supermarket offering fewer products than a conventional store. His proposed range would be about 8,000 SKUs, compared with roughly 20,000 at a typical supermarket. The idea is to limit shelf competition, increase product turnover, and improve margins while encouraging suppliers to compete for shelf space.
• Imports: He also expressed interest in importing goods directly, with the aim of reducing the number of intermediaries and markups.

Metrics and Figures Cited

Measure Figure or claim Car listings scanned by the original software About 200,000–300,000 in roughly 10 seconds Restaurants, cafes, and bars on the earlier hospitality app About 100 in Melbourne LMCT+ merchant partners About 2,000 Partner onboarding fee About $200, according to Portelli Sales attributed to one partner About $1.3 million Initial GTR giveaway car value About $20,000–$25,000 Property promotion investment recovery Under 48 hours, according to Portelli Proposed supermarket assortment About 8,000 SKUs versus roughly 20,000 at a conventional supermarket Potential fuel saving cited About 20 cents per litre statewide Staff based in Australia About 20% of LMCT+ staff

Regulatory, Financial, and Location Issues

South Australia

Portelli says the business had operated there for years under permits before the state changed its rules. He says LMCT+ excluded South Australians from its marketing but could not prevent every person from entering, and that the dispute followed his refusal to reclaim prizes from previous winners. He cites a $40,000 fine and says he was cleared of a conviction. These are his descriptions of the dispute.

ATO and Cash-Flow Exposure

Portelli says the business had been paying tax through payment plans and instalments, and that projected instalments at one point consumed 70–80% of turnover. He also says he had a $250,000 weekly direct debit to the ATO.

He alleges that business bank funds were frozen and that a 30% lien was placed on Stripe receipts, temporarily disrupting payments and payroll. He says the orders were later lifted and that he believes the business is owed millions. The interview does not independently verify these claims.

Dubai Move

Portelli says the move had been planned for several years and was motivated by family lifestyle, safety, and a desire not to keep everything in one place—not solely by tax. He says the Australian businesses remain based in Australia and that moving does not remove Australian tax obligations on Australian business income.

He describes Dubai as giving him more control over the movement of funds, while acknowledging that the move may allow tax minimisation in some respects.

Presenters and Sources

Adrian Portelli, interviewed by Mark Bouris on Straight Talk (Mark Bouris channel).