Hunt & Hunt will close its Newcastle office at the end of today (October 29) after 27 years. A source within the firm said the firm had taken the position that the Newcastle office was no longer aligned with its national strategy. “10 years ago it was a market we wanted to be in, but things have changed,” they said. “The market is not as large as we thought it would be, it has not grown in line with the expectations we had.”
A significant number of Hunt & Hunt Newcastle staff were poached by rival firm Moray & Agnew when it launched in Newcastle five years ago. The two remaining partners located in the office have chosen to pursue other options, while some of the more junior staff are relocating to the firm’s Sydney offices. “We have been very supportive of staff wanting to look for opportunities elsewhere,” the source said.
Hunt & Hunt has offices in capital cities across Australia, including two in Sydney, and an office in Shanghai. The source said that as Newcastle was the only regional office it was “odd” and did not fit in with the rest of the firm’s network. He said the firm "had already seamlessly accommodated existing Newcastle clients through the Sydney offices."
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