Adrian Portelli steps in to save Derrimut Gym from collapse

Billionaire businessman Adrian Portelli — 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.

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