Historic hotspots of summer revelry, Britain’s coastal leisure destinations have seen an upturn in recent years as local authorities and private investors alike are increasingly realising their importance.

And for industry veteran John Stergides, this is the making of a new seaside offering. While coastal operations have historically represented “the backbone of the industry”, Stergides points to more than half a decade of further expansion at seaside entertainment venues, an investment that will only help the industry widen its horizons going forward.

“British seaside’s are on the rise but ‘comeback’ is not the correct word in this case as they have always been there. However, due to a lack of investment by
local authorities, this discouraged private investors,” he said.

“But, over the last 5 years there has been a new trend with investment from both sides and you can see some examples with Brian Bell’s arcade in Skegness,
Clacton Pier, Weston Super-Mare , Felixstowe Pier to name a few. These have propelled FEC’s into a higher standard than any other place around the world, providing a full entertaining and socialising environment for the whole family.”

A key part of this increased offering is the growing popularity of redemption units, allowing premises to increase engagements and dwell time with unique experiences and rewards.

“Redemption games and products are growing in popularity with families as they cannot ‘play’ these in the homes or on their smartphones. It is creating an
entertaining environment where families can socialise,” commented Stergides.

“We look at the trends and success of other sectors like the films, toy, events industries and we try to adopt these ideas and adapt into the family entertainment machines,” he added.

Whilst redemption units are an integral part of the FEC landscape, it is quality throughout a varied machine estate that pays the greatest dividends for
operators. To best facilitate this, having stock of a variety of units to suit the intricacies of venues, much as Electrocoin does, is crucial for the market according to Stergides.

“Everyone in the industry has been doing their best and been as flexible as possible,” he said. “The seaside operators are doing more than any other business
to promote and provide every facility possible so that visitors to their premises can have a full entertaining experience at great value, and if they leave the premises with a smile, they will be eager to return.

Coinslot May 18 – May 24 . No 2577