‘Lambo Guy’ Adrian Portelli steps in to save Derrimut Gym from collapse

Billionaire businessman Adrian Portelli — better known as the ‘Lambo Guy’ — has stepped in to rescue a struggling gym chain, snapping up a major stake as the company faces mounting debts and site closures.

The fitness empire, Derrimut Gym, which runs 25 gyms across Victoria and South Australia, owes $12.5 million to the ATO, with unpaid staff wages and bills piling up.

Two of its South Australian locations — Noarlunga and Angle Vale — have already shut their doors.

“I’ve had many good times here,” Portelli told 7NEWS.

“You’ve got 800 staff, hundreds of thousands of members — it’s an icon of the fitness industry.”

Portelli told 7NEWS his first priority is paying off the company’s debts and getting the business back in the black.

“The first thing now is just to pay all the debtors, pay everything off,” he said.

Derrimut’s owner Nick Solomos says the deal is the lifeline they desperately needed.

“We’ll get everything nutted out in the next couple of days, couple of weeks — and just watch the journey,” he said.

“Very proud that it’s going to live to fight another day.

“We’re not just gonna take on Australia — I think we’re gonna take on the world.”

Despite the financial chaos, the brand is still expanding, with a massive new site set to open next month at the old Holden factory in Elizabeth, in Adelaide’s north. It’s being touted as the largest gym in the Southern Hemisphere.

Derrimut currently employs around 800 staff and serves thousands of members across both states.