Lyndon
Nick Russell
Simon Loughery
David Sutton
Andrew Cairns
Jane Sandral
Katie Chad
Belinda Driver
Bridie O'Sullivan
Sharnie Lofgren
Emma Hales
Penny Zatmury
Louise Malone
Michelle Jeffers
Libby Ellis
Lucinda Maloney
Jane Collins
Catherine Hamilton
If I have forgotten anyone, I apologise.
To the Hunt Hospitality International (HHI) team: true champions in every way, for having my back and for your loyalty. You are my extended family. I hope I do as much for you as you have done for me:
Kris Gladwell
Jason Archer
Ricci-lee Wheeler
Corey Park and Hannah Purdy
Tony and Cat Jackson
Corey Baker
Wendy Berlin
Terri Jones
Jeremy Cusack
My chief advisors:
Cath Antaw
Andrew Wennerbom
Alex Thompson
Simon Rutherford
Marin Kennedy
To my investors and business partners past and present for your support. In no particular order:
Brent and Katia Penfold
Tim Wearne
Michael Mitrovits
Annette Pulbrook
Kathy Richardson
John Curnow
Graeme Cunningham
Gus Gilkison
Nick Wormald
A special thank you to Greg Maitland for being my valued mentor; what you don't know about putting a deal together isn't worth knowing. Thank you.
To the Bayfield family, especially Wayne. You were great mentors who really taught me the importance of the community/pub relationship.
To the team at Westpac bank, Jeff Hurdis, Michelle Smith and Luba Finch, for being such honest and helpful bankers.
To James Brindley from Lion, Peter Filipovic from CUB, Michael Ritoli and Fred Jones from CUB Special Beverage, the team at LMG, especially Aidan Desmond and Amanda Williams for being such great supporters, the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) and in particular John Thorpe (RIP), Scott Leach, John Wheelan, John Green, Sean Morrissey and Phillip Ryan.
To the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, Hunter Business Chamber and the Bar and Nightclub Show Las Vegas for your support.
To all the sporting teams that we support, and who support us:
The Wildfires (Hunter Rugby)
The Maitland Blacks Rugby Club
The Wahroonga Tigers
The Hornsby Lions
The Bogan Bulls (Nyngan).
And lastly, to Bernadette Schwerdt, for the time, effort and support you have put into helping bring my business story to life. Over countless conversations, hundreds of emails and thousands of words, you have helped me distil a rollicking and rowdy life into a book that I hope will be of value to many others. From when we first met, I knew you were the right person to help me tell my story, and my trust and instinct has been rewarded. Thank you for guiding me through this journey and for providing me with an outstanding learning experience. This book would not be the success it is without you.
And finally, a sincere and heartfelt thank you to every customer who has walked into one of our pubs. You are the reason we are here.
Introduction
The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it.
Epictetus
My name is Hunt. Stephen Hunt. Clearly, my ancestors were hunters, and so am I. My name reflects perfectly what I do — so much so, I bought a dog, a German shorthaired pointer (Snoop, on the left), in honour of that ancestry. He is one of the best hunting dogs you can find. I bought him because he reminds me of who I am, and what I was destined to be.
Snoop, on the left, the best hunting dog you can find.
In short, I am a Hunter. I track down good pubs that have the potential to be great. I round up the team who can help me restore them to their former glory. I sniff out the best deals to maximise efficiencies. I then deliver them to my investors, and do it all again. I'll stop with the dog analogy … you get the drift.
Hunt by name, hunt by nature
If you believe in the science of epigenetics, I am aptly named. Now epigenetics may sound like a depilatory tool you'd see for sale on The Shopping Channel, but it's the study of how behaviours and environment affect the way our genes work. Interestingly, a study discovered that 30 per cent of white men were more likely to match their career to their surname. (This is why we see Mr McBurney become a fire chief, Mr Brain become a neurosurgeon or Mr Soo Yoo a lawyer — all of whom are real people, by the way, according to the website ‘boredpanda'.)
Is that luck, destiny, nature, nurture?
I don't know, and it doesn't matter. Whatever it is, I consider myself lucky to be The Pub Hunter. I've found myself here, at 48 years old, walking side by side with my wife and partner in life, Fidelma,
