Patch is opening its latest hub in the historic Armada House

A workspace provider backed by the team behind Innocent Drinks is opening a base in Bristol in November. Patch’s new co-working hub will open at Armada House – an historic building in the old city that originally served as the offices for Bristol Waterworks Company.

Set across 13,000 sq ft just off Baldwin Street, the hub will have co-working studios, private offices, meeting rooms, large-scale event spaces and a rooftop lounge and terrace. It will also host a range of events including talks, workshops, industry gatherings and product launches, according to the company.

Patch Bristol will be the seventh site for the workspace firm, which already has hubs in Bournemouth, Gloucester, Twickenham, York, High Wycombe and Chelmsford.

Freddie Fforde, founder and chief executive of Patch, said: “Bristol has an incredible combination of entrepreneurial ambition, creativity and civic purpose.

“As our plans have developed, we’ve loved getting to know more of the founders, businesses and organisations shaping the city. We want Patch to become a home for that energy: somewhere people can build businesses, exchange ideas and start new collaborations.”

Built in 1903 as the headquarters of the Bristol Waterworks Company, Grade II-listed Armada House has been completely refurbished by Patch. The company says it has “reimagined” the property by adding “bold colour, contemporary design and beautifully crafted interiors”, while retaining original features.

“Bristol was a natural choice for Patch,” said Mr Fforde. “The city has an extraordinary concentration of creative talent, tech businesses, B Corps and climate innovators, alongside world-class universities and a thriving film and media sector with a global reputation.”

Patch’s backers include JamJar, the venture fund created by the team behind Innocent Drinks, alongside Active Partners and Matt Clifford CBE, co-founder of Entrepreneur First.

Patch will be led in Bristol by a local director and team.

Paloma Strelitz, creative director and head of product at Patch, said: “Bristol has an extraordinary crossover between entrepreneurship, creativity and culture. Some of the most interesting ideas emerge when people from different worlds connect. Patch can help join some of those dots, creating more opportunities for people and ideas to come together in the centre of Bristol.”

Shares of One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, dropped over 2.5% on Tuesday after the government directed banks and payment system providers not to levy charges on UPI transactions of up to Rs 2,000, leaving investors speculating about what happens to transactions above the said amount.

Paytm shares dropped to Rs 1,761.80 apiece on NSE on Tuesday morning. This comes a session after the stock hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,840 apiece, nearly doubling in less than six months from its 52-week low of Rs 930.6 apiece which the stock had hit in March this year.

As per a gazette notification dated Monday, no bank or system provider would directly or indirectly impose any charge on a person making or receiving a payment through RuPay debit card or UPI transaction of up to Rs 2,000. However, the government did not specify whether charges would be applicable to transactions above Rs 2,000, to be paid by merchants. Currently, there are no charges levied on UPI transactions, irrespective of the amount.

Also read |Banks cannot impose charges on UPI payments of up to Rs 2,000, govt says

The latest notification comes after an amendment to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, which provides a framework for imposing a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on payments through UPI and other notified electronic payment modes. The government in a statement explained the rationale for imposing charges, stating that with exponential transaction volumes, the system requires significant and continuous upgrades in cybersecurity, fraud prevention, and infrastructure.

Charges were required for market expansion and self sustainability, it said, adding that it is necessary to increase competition by encouraging more companies to expand operations, which requires a self-sustaining revenue model. Reliance on subsidies alone is not viable for the next wave of growth, and a balanced framework is required to ensure that UPI remains robust, inclusive and future-ready, the statement further said.

Why are Paytm shares falling today?

For nearly seven years, UPI became more and more popular as a transaction could be made so quickly without paying any additional charges. By specifically shielding UPI payments only up to Rs 2,000, the government has created the legal and regulatory space for a merchant discount rate, or MDR, to be eventually imposed on selected higher-value merchant transactions. No such charge has yet been announced.The government has however repeatedly clarified that UPI will remain free for citizens and person-to-person transactions will continue without charges. If MDR is introduced, it would only apply to a limited section of merchant transactions, above a specified threshold, and at a rate substantially below typical debit or credit-card MDR.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said any MDR would apply to merchants and not end-users, arguing that revenues generated within the payments ecosystem would enable banks and fintech companies to invest further in infrastructure, innovation and security.

While discussing the costs of digital-payment infrastructure, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra in August said, “Someone has to pay the cost”. He stressed that the RBI wants digital payments to remain accessible, affordable and safe, but also sustainable.

Also read | UPI charges above ₹2000? Government opens door to new merchant fee regime

Should you buy, sell or hold Paytm share price?

Jefferies recently increased its price target for the stock to Rs 2,100 apiece from Rs 1,600 apiece, while maintaining its ‘Buy’ call. The international brokerage highlighted that Paytm stands out on monetisation of its client base in near-zero MDR regime, which is now changing favourably. The fintech platform’s 4.9 crore merchant base and strong loan-origination model should drive 25% revenue CAGR over FY26-29, which, along with operational synergies will aid sharp rise in EBITDA and profit, it added.

Initiative in credit on UPI, cloud AI inference models, wealth offering and foray into overseas markets can lift growth, the international brokerage said, as it increased earnings estimates for FY28-29 by 20-25% to factor 25 bps MDR on UPI.

Bernstein recently named Paytm its top pick, citing robust merchant lending growth, operating leverage and the potential introduction of MDR on UPI as key drivers of earnings growth.

With a target price of Rs 2,200, Bernstein expects Paytm’s EPS to reach Rs 78 by FY29. Even after excluding any potential impact from MDR on UPI, its FY29E EPS estimate stands at Rs 54, still above the Rs 46 consensus estimate.

Also read | Jefferies’ 25% CAGR club: Paytm, Groww among 5 financial stocks that can deliver up to 25% returns

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Debaroti Adhikary, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Debaroti Adhikary and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here.

The state pension is likely to rise by 3.9% next April, according to the latest jobs and pay data.

Under the triple lock pension guarantee, an increase is based on either average wage growth, inflation or 2.5% – whichever is highest.

Average wage growth between May and July slowed, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The number of vacancies in the UK shrank while the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose.

PMI survey data from S&P Global showed worldwide economic growth accelerating further in August, led by the fastest growth among the advanced economies since early 2022. Advanced economy growth was led by the US, but growth has

Sports coverage used to run on a plain deal: networks paid leagues, sold ad slots, and hoped a final round or derby kept viewers through the break. That deal is cracking. Netflix tests live events, Amazon buys Thursday night football, and TikTok turns a ten second dunk into a sales pitch before the postgame show starts. The same pattern shows up beside sport in other paid markets. One short clip can sell a subscription, a jersey, or a gambling prompt before anyone reads a match report. No editor can ignore that. In search data, paysafecard casinos frame how fans deposit with paysafecard before an online casino visit, which tells publishers one thing: payment comfort changes what people click. Attention is money. Another clue comes from games: demo https://www.onlinecasino.si/igralni-avtomati pages for slot machines teach media teams that sampling, replay, and quick loops make spending feel easier. Sports rights owners noticed. They now sell clips, creator access, team channels, betting feeds, and behind the scenes video as separate products, not scraps left after a broadcast.

Rights fees split into smaller packets

The old broadcast bundle hid a lot inside one price. A league sold a full season, a network filled weekends, and sponsors paid for reach. Streaming breaks that into pieces. A platform wants one marquee game, one shoulder show, one archive library, or one player documentary.

Small slices change bidding. Apple can buy Major League Soccer worldwide because it sells the package inside its own store. Amazon values NFL games because Prime members shop more after watching. YouTube pays for Sunday Ticket, then studies searches, signups, and cancellations in the same account graph. That data has cash value, even without a thirty second ad.

Clubs gain new rooms to rent. Training cam. Spanish audio. Youth matches. A paid Discord with a retired captain. None replaces the main rights cheque yet, but each line helps a finance director defend a higher wage bill.

Ads follow the fan, not the channel

Linear television sold broad audiences. A beer brand bought men aged 18 to 49 during halftime, then accepted waste as part of the bill. Social video is less patient. Meta, Snap, and TikTok sell by interest, location, watch time, and recent clicks.

The price model changes too. A sponsor can pay for completed views on a goals package, then retarget people who watched 75 percent of it with a jersey discount. It feels clinical. Still, clubs like the math because a sponsor sees a route between clip and cart.

This hurts mid sized broadcasters. They once owned the local sports audience by default. Now a striker with six million Instagram followers can sell a boot launch faster than a regional network can book a studio guest. The ad money follows proof, and proof now sits in dashboards, not overnight ratings.

Creators turn access into a media asset

A sideline reporter used to wait for permission. A creator with a phone waits for a door to open. The gap sounds small, but the economics are different. Credentialed influencers film arrival outfits, bench chatter, recovery meals, and five seconds of a star laughing with a kit manager.

Teams pay attention because those clips carry a softer sell. A creator video looks less like inventory and more like proof that the club has a culture worth joining. Sponsors like that texture. So do younger fans who rarely sit through a full pregame show.

There is risk. One awkward tunnel clip can anger a coach or reveal a set piece note on a whiteboard. The best clubs write strict rules: no medical rooms, no tactical boards, no minors without consent. Then they measure sales, watch time, and follower growth like any other campaign.

Live chat makes coverage shoppable

Live sport has always been social. The difference is the cash register now sits beside the comments. A viewer can tap a poll, buy a scarf, tip a creator, join a fantasy contest, or enter a sponsor draw without leaving the stream.

This rewires production. Commentators pause for fan questions. Producers build vertical replays for phones. Graphics teams prepare QR codes and odds warnings before kickoff. Even a rain delay becomes inventory if the host can keep chat moving for twelve minutes.

The hard part is trust. Too many prompts make a match feel like a mall kiosk. Smart publishers limit the ask. One sponsor tag during team news. One shop link after a goal. One paid sticker pack for a derby week. The money is smaller per action, but the count is visible, and finance teams love visible counts.

What the next rights deal will test

The next big contract will ask a blunt question. Is exclusivity worth more than reach? A league that sells every match to one paid app gets a clean cheque and tight data. It also risks hiding young stars behind another password.

Some owners now prefer a ladder. Free highlights on TikTok within minutes. A weekly YouTube magazine. Regional radio for older fans. Premium live matches on a paid service. Archive games in an app during the offseason. Each rung serves a different habit, and each has its own sponsor price.

Newsrooms feel the pressure first. Reporters must cover the match, clip the quote, host a live blog, record a podcast, and appear on camera before midnight. That workload is real. It needs editors, templates, rights clearance, and rest days, not just enthusiasm.

The smartest sports companies will stop treating coverage as one show. They will price moments. A transfer rumor has a shelf life of hours. A cup final save can sell for years. A local academy story earns trust, even if it never trends. No spreadsheet will catch all of it, but a rough map beats guessing in June alone. The practical move is simple: map every piece of coverage to a buyer, a fan habit, and a shelf life before the next season starts.