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Artist or illustrator companies in the Portsmouth area

213 artist or illustrator companies have a registered office in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes), and 31 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £8,123 in cash and owed £12,403 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Artistic creation” (SIC 90030). Covers companies with a registered office in PO postcodes, including Portsmouth, Chichester, Isle Of Wight.

The numbers

Artist or illustrator companies in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasurePortsmouthUK
Registered companies21322,803
Formed in 2025 or 202631 (15%)17%
Being struck off or in liquidation14 (6.6%)6.3%
Typical cash at year end£8,12354 accounts£17,603
Typical amount owed at year end£12,403121 accounts£14,371
Typical number of employees1121 accounts1

What this means if you’re starting one

Most of these businesses are run by one or two people

The typical artist or illustrator company in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) reports 1 employee; the top quarter has 2 or more (121 filings).

You are mostly up against owner-operators. Your own hours are likely to be your biggest cost, and the easiest one to undercount.

You can start without much equipment

The typical artist or illustrator company in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) carries £2,674 of equipment and other fixed assets after depreciation, lower than 92% of UK industries.

Most of the cost of entry is time and running costs rather than kit, so a small test is cheap.

Planning a business like this in Portsmouth?

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What these figures can’t tell you

Companies are counted where their registered office is, which may be an accountant or a home address rather than a shop. Sole traders and partnerships are not on the register, and electronically filed accounts cover roughly 60–75% of accounts filed each year. The figures describe companies that exist; they cannot prove demand for your idea or predict whether it will work. How the figures are built.

Artist or illustrator in other places

Other businesses in Portsmouth

All business benchmarks in Portsmouth