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Holiday let or B&B companies in the Portsmouth area

190 holiday let or B&B companies have a registered office in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes), and 39 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £7,627 in cash and owed £29,411 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Other holiday and other collective accommodation” (SIC 55209). Covers companies with a registered office in PO postcodes, including Portsmouth, Chichester, Isle Of Wight.

The numbers

Holiday let or B&B companies in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasurePortsmouthUK
Registered companies19013,821
Formed in 2025 or 202639 (21%)29%
Being struck off or in liquidation8 (4.2%)5.4%
Typical cash at year end£7,62756 accounts£7,987
Typical amount owed at year end£29,411118 accounts£36,012
Typical number of employees1115 accounts1

What this means if you’re starting one

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical holiday let or b&b company in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) holds £7,627 in cash and owes £29,411; that cash figure is lower than 91% of UK industries.

Typical operators end the year holding less cash than they owe, so there is little slack if takings dip or a big bill lands early.

Most of these businesses are run by one or two people

The typical holiday let or b&b company in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) reports 1 employee; the top quarter has 2 or more (115 filings).

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

At least a quarter of these companies owe more than they own

The lowest quarter of holiday let or B&B companies in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) report net assets of -£3,234 or less; the median is £2,792 (103 filings).

Many operators are propped up by loans, unpaid bills or money from the owner rather than by profit kept in the business. It is easy to keep going for longer than the numbers justify.

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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.

Holiday let or B&B in other places

Other businesses in Portsmouth

All business benchmarks in Portsmouth