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Marketing or advertising agency companies in the Portsmouth area

295 marketing or advertising agency companies have a registered office in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes), and 87 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £16,658 in cash and owed £16,506 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Advertising agencies” (SIC 73110). Covers companies with a registered office in PO postcodes, including Portsmouth, Chichester, Isle Of Wight.

The numbers

Marketing or advertising agency companies in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasurePortsmouthUK
Registered companies29533,083
Formed in 2025 or 202687 (29%)33%
Being struck off or in liquidation31 (11%)9.2%
Typical cash at year end£16,65868 accounts£17,802
Typical amount owed at year end£16,506135 accounts£14,687
Typical number of employees1133 accounts1

What this means if you’re starting one

Most of your competition will be other newcomers

29% of the 295 marketing or advertising agency companies in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) were formed in 2025–26, against 19% of all companies in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes). Nationally, that share of new companies is higher than 92% of UK industries.

New rivals are arriving faster than in most trades, so your customers already have fresh options. Being new is not a difference on its own.

Most of these businesses are run by one or two people

The typical marketing or advertising agency company in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) reports 1 employee; the top quarter has 2 or more (133 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 marketing or advertising agency company in the Portsmouth area (PO postcodes) carries £3,096 of equipment and other fixed assets after depreciation, lower than 94% of UK industries.

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

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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.

Marketing or advertising agency in other places

Other businesses in Portsmouth

All business benchmarks in Portsmouth