A British tippler who opts to drink beer at home spends as little as 79 pence—$1.22—for a pint. At a British nightclub, a pint usually goes for £6.

That simple math appeals to young British consumers (18- to 24-year-olds) suffering from 20 percent unemployment among their age group. A growing club scene in Britain once thrived on affluent young consumers. Now many of those clubgoers are on the dole.

Luminar Group Holdings, the U.K.'s largest club owner, has shut at least 11 venues since February. Its shares have dropped 74 percent this year. Brook Leisure Holdings, which operates in northern England, has had to close two clubs and a bar in the past four months. "This year has been particularly tough," says Cameron Leslie, co-founder and managing director of two London clubs, one of which he closed in June. "Undergraduates are not finding jobs, creating a huge strain on our core target market."

More info:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_37/b4194012951801.htm