British Land’s retail PR manager Jackie Whitaker talks shop

My day

7.00am: Alarm goes off late as I’m staying at my boyfriend’s flat in Victoria. It goes off considerably earlier when I’m at home in Hemel Hempstead. It’s not hard to guess where I prefer to stay in the week.

Get ready to BBC Breakfast or Capital FM then jump on the 73 bus which conveniently drops me almost at my office door at Marble Arch about 10 minutes later.

9.00am: Arrive at the office and read through the emails I’ve received that morning in detail, particularly the broker notes. I also check key trade websites and read through the morning’s press cuttings.

9:30am: Feeling suitably organised, I turn my attention to finalising the announcement on online and mail-order brand Simply Be taking its first and only out-of-town store at one of our shopping parks in Stockton-on-Tees. Working with new entrants to the market is always exciting.

10.30am: Sit in on an Estates Gazette telephone interview with our head of asset management for the forthcoming retail and leisure feature. The journalist wants a view on the types of sites restaurateurs are currently seeking.

12.00 noon: I have the opportunity to go and speak to all our centre managers who have travelled from around the country for a quarterly meeting. Having recently joined, it’s a great chance to meet many of them for the first time and understand how I can promote some of the excellent initiatives that are happening across the retail portfolio at a local and regional level. I learn about some exciting initiatives such as student lock-in discount events and apprentice schemes.

1.00pm: Meet up with an agency contact I used to work with who is now a friend for a quick lunch at Pizza Express and exchange information on which journalists have been in touch, who is writing what and who is moving where.

2.00pm: Review the new photography of the recently launched £7-million Oasis Dining Quarter at Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield which has really raised the standard of the catering offer and is playing a key role in driving both footfall and sales. Catch up on emails and work my way through the other urgent event items in my calendar.

6.30pm: Leave the office and guiltily decide I’m too tired to go to the gym again. I head back to Victoria and offer to cook supper. My boyfriend politely declines (I’m an atrocious cook) and we go out to eat nearby instead. Then it’s time for an hour or so of trashy television before heading to bed.