London's 100 Club, widely considered the birthplace of U.K. punk, is set to close before the end of the year. Owner Jeff Horton says the cost of keeping the club open has become too much. 

Originally a restaurant called Mack's, the club started hosting live music in 1942 and went on to host jazz legends Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Ray Ellington among others. Promoter Ron Watts introduced "Rock Special" nights during the mid-'70s which helped usher in the U.K.'s prominent punk scene by introducing the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Damned and countless more to London's West End.

Horton released a statement that says, "The writing has been on the wall, so to speak, since the rent increased by 45% in 2007. It was an increase that was unsustainable. Just as pertinent have been the increase year on year in Business Rates that have now reached a ludicrous level of  £1000 per week, and now the Government are increasing VAT to 20% from January. There have been over a dozen increases in duty on alcohol in the last two years or so as well, meaning that my supplier’s bills have increased some 40% in that period. The bottom line is that the club has a liability to it's landlords and HMRC that suck 80% of it's income out of the business. How can that possibly be right?  The business rates, for instance, don't include refuse collection. In fairness to the 100 Club's landlords they have made two concessions on the rent in the past, one for signing a new lease last year, but have stressed that this is something that will not happen again.  Besides, when you have a law regarding commercial rents that stipulate they can only go up, what is to prevent another increase happening again in 2012 when the next Rent Review is due?? Is the increase going to be 45% for the third review in a row? These increases do not in any way reflect the social or economic climate at any given time.  It is purely a way of legally fleecing small, and in all probability, medium sized businesses, certainly in Central London.   It is a practice that needs to be stopped......and now. In my opinion HMRC are using the same Corporate model in raising and accruing Tax. As a result the 100 Club, now the oldest live music and entertainment venue on the Planet, will shut it's doors for the final time at the end of the year unless a sponsor, funding or a buyer can be found, after accruing losses of almost £100,000 a year for the last three years."

Horton still owns the 100 Club name, so it's possible that it could live on at another location.