John Wilkinson

John Wilkinson, also referred to publicly as Johnnie Wilkinson, is the co-founder of Greenman and has managed the business since its formation in Dublin in 2005. Greenman describes itself as a market-leading, sector-specific real estate investment fund manager focused on converting rental income from food retail real estate into long-term income for investors.

Under Wilkinson’s leadership, Greenman built a specialization in German food and non-food retail warehousing. The firm launched its first German real estate fund in 2008, became the first Irish-owned investment fund manager authorised as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager in 2014, and launched a Luxembourg-seated AIF platform approved by the CSSF.

Greenman’s flagship fund, Greenman OPEN, became the largest German food-retail focused real estate fund available on the market in 2019. By 2026, Greenman said it managed three ELTIFs: Greenman OPEN, Greenman NEXT, and Greenman Harvest “B”, with holdings across supermarkets, renewable energy infrastructure, and agriculture exceeding €1.3 billion in total value.

In March 2026, Neil O’Keeffe succeeded Wilkinson as chief executive of Greenman Investments. Wilkinson remained an executive director focused on Greenman’s fund strategies, while also being listed by Greenman as CEO of Greenman Group and Director of Fund Strategies at Greenman Investments. His LinkedIn profile lists education at the Royal Agricultural University.

• Greenman’s core strategy is long-term ownership of grocery-anchored real estate, especially properties let to established food retailers on long leases.
• The firm’s stated model is to generate investor income through the purchase, operation, and sale of food-anchored real estate.
• Wilkinson has described Greenman OPEN as following a “buy & hold strategy,” with a goal of generating at least 5% of annual revenue from non-rental income initiatives by 2025.
• Greenman OPEN focuses on four investment zones: real estate, utilities, networks, and resources. These include grocery retail properties, renewable energy infrastructure, smart data platforms, and vertical farming.
• Greenman NEXT invests in grocery-anchored real estate, logistics, omni-channel grocery distribution, and retail platforms across the EU.
• NEXT’s strategies include Own to Hold, Own to Sell, Loan to Own, and Loan to Support, covering acquisitions and secured lending to real-estate-related businesses.
• ESG and climate alignment are central to the current strategy: Greenman OPEN launched a Net Zero Pathway, converted into an Article 9 fund under SFDR in 2023, and converted into an ELTIF in 2024.
• Wilkinson has emphasized “Convert not Demolish” as Greenman’s approach to underperforming or obsolete assets, preferring repurposing and recycling buildings where possible.