City & Corporate: The Week in City & Corporate

British Land, the UK's largest quoted retail landlord, has appointed Jackie Whitaker as retail PR manager. Working closely with the senior retail team and director of corporate comms Pip Wood, she will look to implement a PR strategy that communicates the successes of the retail team and the quality and appeal of the retail portfolio to local, trade and national media. Whitaker has 12 years' commercial property experience.

Heineken UK has hired Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, to become corporate relations director. He has been at the WSTA, the lobbying organisation of the wine and spirit industry, for six years and will take up his Heineken role in the New Year.

Tony McGarahan, the independent corporate comms adviser, has been called in to support aircraft parts supplier and materials group Umeco. McGarahan has been hired to advise on financial and corporate comms, and help communicate the group's equity story to the City following the sale of its supply chain business Pattonair in the summer. Umeco clients include Boeing, Airbus, BAE and Formula 1 teams. Tulchan Communications handles the company's financial comms.

Artilium, the AIM-listed telecoms firm, has engaged the strategic comms practice at FTI Consulting to handle its UK corporate comms. Founded in 1995, Artilium helps fixed and mobile telecoms operators to deliver tailor-made products to niche markets through its software-based service platform, ARTA. Artilium currently has clients in 11 countries, which service millions of end users and offices in the UK and Belgium.