Eddie Hobbs steps down from board of investment firm

Eddie Hobbs has stepped down as director of his firm, Brendan Investments.

Documents lodged with the Companies Office on Monday confirm the celebrity consumer advocate and president of new political party Renua resigned as a non-executive director of Brendan Investments Pan European Property Plc on March 23.

Mr Hobbs has also stepped down as a non-executive director of Airsynergy, the Granard-based wind turbine technology company, which he had been involved with for several years.

In an email to clients, Mr Hobbs said: “I remain an active shareholder and fully supportive of my colleagues in both firms. Politics, as I’ve learned, is an uncertain game with no rules, but it’s most definitely a time of change and I think a time of sweeping change during which I expect to add my own heft, after working hours, so as to speak.”

Regarding his involvement with Renua, Mr Hobbs said: “I’m committed for up to three years as Renua president, looking after member interests, overseeing the parliamentary party and stepping on to its board.”

He added: “It’s a huge task and it’s all voluntary, including my time, but in the interim, I’m fully committed professionally to my Financial Development and Marketing Ltd (FDML).”

Mr Hobbs has not stated if he will be a candidate for Renua in the next election.

The Cork native led the promotion for Brendan Investments in 2007, and investors were invited to make a minimum investment of €5,000, with 10,000 people downloading the company’s prospectus and brochure for the venture. However, the crash in the property sector resulted in the company raising only €12.6m.