WITH only 40 days until the introduction of the new 12-sided £1 coin, for many of us there will be little change, except for the excitement of first seeing one.

However, for some businesses the introduction of the new currency is a “nightmare”.

One particularly badly affected is the entertainment industry.

Many of the machines used by arcades will need to be reconfigured to take the new £1 coin which is being brought into circulation from March 28.

Martin Richardson, who owns Happidrome Arcade, part of LG Leisure, in Marine Parade, Southend, estimates that it will cost his business £6,000 to £8,000 to change the arcade machines to accept the new coins.

He said: “It is a nightmare.

“It is just after the introduction of the new 10p coin and £5 note.

“They are also planning a new £10 note.

“It is a massive drain on our industry.

“They say it is to make it harder for people to make fraudulent coins, but I don’t believe that.

“The new coins won’t stop them making fraudulent copies.

“If it is made, someone can make it again.

“I think it is because they have used inferior metals and so the coins are not in very good condition and no amount of scratching them on the side of a machine will help.”

The Royal Mint, which is in charge of the new coins, says the new £1 coins will feature hidden high security features to make it harder to make illegal copies of them.

It has marketed them as the most secure coin in the world and is not releasing details of the security features.

Mr Richardson said that because there would be period of time where both coins were legal tender, this would also cause problems for arcades as they would need machines that would accept both.

Mr Richardson explained that it affected the industry more than others as they were unable to put their prices up to cover the extra cost.

He said: “The supermarkets need to change their trolleys to take the new pound coins, but they can off set the cost by putting up their prices.

“For example, if the price of grain goes up, the price of milk goes up pro rata because it is more expensive to keep the cows and they can do the same to offset the price of changing the trolleys.

“However, we are regulated by the Government.

“We can’t just put our prices up.

“What we can put up - for example the rides - we have already put up to cover the cost of having to change the machines after the new 10p was brought in.

“There is very little we can do to offset the cost of the new machines.

“This is where the Government should give us some money back.

“We should get a grant to pay towards the cost of having to change the machines or the Government should pay half.”

The arcade has had examples of the coins for the last year to test them, along with other shops and industries.

This enables staff to familiarise themselves with the new coins and the markings to ensure they can identify the real specimen when the coins are officially rolled out.

It also means the samples can be tested in the machines so they know which ones need to be changed.

Mr Richardson said: “We have been guinea pigs testing them for the Government.

“They use the industries to test them, but we get nothing in return.”