Where it all began 

In 1983, Kevin Hickman, a private detective who would later become a co-founder of Ryman, was asked to investigate a resthome fire in Christchurch.

“To me it was crazy, the standards were so poor. The fire was in an old villa and there were four people to a room all with shared toilets,’’ Kevin recalls.

“I thought, what would I want for Mum? I’d want a single room, with an attached ensuite. Not a shared ensuite, because that creates enormous problems.’’