After leaving the army, and following a short spell washing cars in Ottawa, Canada, Hunt returned to the UK in 1972 and spent the next eight years working as an estate agent in Woking and Guildford, Surrey.
[6] Hunt's property career began at age 19 when he borrowed a £100 deposit to buy a one-bedroom conversion flat in Walton Road, Woking for £4,500.
Foxtons expanded to other London districts, each new branch offering a 0% commission in its first three months of operation to attract customers, thereafter charging higher rates than competitors.
[10] Hunt sold Foxtons to private equity group BC Partners for £375 million in May 2007, at what some commentators described as the height of the UK property market.
In December 2011 Ocubis received planning consent for a 120,000 square foot mixed use redevelopment of its building at 150 Holborn, designed by Make Architects.
The Times newspaper reports that Hunt plans to refurbish the building to provide 15,000 sq ft of office space, along with 13 luxury flats currently under construction on an adjoining site.
The company is said to be seeking rents of £160 per sq ft for its office building at 5 St James's Square, making it among the most expensive in London.
[15] In 2010, Hunt formed Bacchus Partners, which invests in sites suitable for residential or retail development in the South East of England.
[23] In 2013 Hunt launched the Wilderness Reserve, an area of restored natural lakes, parkland and woods surrounding Heveningham Hall situated in Suffolk's Yox Valley on the Heritage Coast.
[24] In developing the Reserve, Hunt purchased 5000 acres of land, restored buildings and oversaw the reintroduction of wildlife and various species of flora and fauna.
[26] In 2014, Hunt also purchased Cockfield Hall in Yoxford in Suffolk, England, a Grade I listed private house standing in 76 acres (31 ha) of historic parkland, partly dating from the 16th century.