A Portsmouth 023 number that signals you belong in Britain's maritime and defence engineering heartland

Portsmouth has a population of around 210,000 in the city and anchors an urban area of roughly 410,000 people, which makes it one of the UK’s leading naval and defence engineering centres. A 023 number is the single clearest signal to UK customers that your company operates in Portsmouth rather than further afield.

Whether you run a defence contracting firm near HMNB Portsmouth, a logistics operation serving the Historic Dockyard, or a technology startup at Lakeside North Harbour, a 023 number ties your branding to Portsmouth without you having to lease a waterfront office. CallFactory delivers the number together with a full cloud phone system, so there is no on-site hardware to install and your existing handsets, mobiles and softphones keep working.

The 023 area code was introduced in 2000 under Ofcom’s Big Number Change, which consolidated the original 01705 (Portsmouth) and 01703 (Southampton) codes into a single 023 zone covering the entire South Hampshire Solent region. Portsmouth numbers were allocated the 023 92xx xxxx and 023 93xx xxxx ranges, whilst Southampton received 023 80xx xxxx, 023 81xx xxxx and 023 82xx xxxx. This consolidation reflected the integrated geography of South Hampshire and recognised strong maritime, logistics and aerospace connections across both cities and their wider region.

The 023 area maps onto the South Hampshire and Portsmouth telecoms region, which means porting between providers is straightforward — any UK carrier that holds 023 stock can release a number to CallFactory through the standard gaining-provider-led process.

Area code 023 covers Portsmouth and a wide South Hampshire commuter belt. Major centres inside the area include:

• HMNB Portsmouth — Home of the Royal Navy, HMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Prince of Wales, Type 45 destroyers, Type 23 frigates
• Gunwharf Quays — waterfront retail, hospitality, Spinnaker Tower tourism
• Portsmouth Historic Dockyard — HMS Victory, Mary Rose Museum, tourism heritage
• BAE Systems Maritime Portsmouth — warship build and maintenance, Royal Navy partner
• Airbus Defence & Space Portsmouth — military radar and surveillance systems manufacturing
• QinetiQ Portsdown — defence research and technology, Portsdown Technology Park
• Southsea — residential and tourist destination
• Portsmouth International Port — cross-Channel ferry operations, second-busiest UK ferry port
• Lakeside North Harbour — IBM software development, Zurich Insurance operations (~2,500 staff)
• Gosport and Havant — suburban areas and industrial zones on the 023 fringe

If your business is registered at any Portsmouth or South Hampshire postcode, you qualify for a 023 number.

Portsmouth is broad, so a 023 number suits a wide mix of sectors. The three profiles we see most often at CallFactory are:

Naval and defence contractors — HMNB Portsmouth is home to the Royal Navy’s carrier strike group and surface fleet, BAE Systems Maritime builds and maintains those warships, and QinetiQ operates a major defence research facility. A 023 signals alignment with that defence ecosystem, which reduces friction in procurement for military contractors and defence suppliers.

Maritime and ferry operations — Portsmouth International Port is the second-busiest cross-Channel ferry port in the UK, serving France, Spain and the Channel Islands. A 023 attracts ferry operators, logistics partners and international shipping customers who expect a Portsmouth point of contact.

Aerospace and defence electronics — Airbus Defence & Space Portsmouth manufactures military radar and surveillance systems, which means a 023 is shorthand for aerospace expertise and government contracting credentials on the south coast.

Outside those three profiles a 023 still pays off. Healthcare practices, online retailers, hospitality and membership organisations across Portsmouth all see the same local-trust benefit.

Google treats your business phone number as a geographic signal, which means a 023 number on your website, your Google Business Profile and UK business directories tells Google that your company belongs to Portsmouth. Combined with a consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) profile across listings, that strengthens your ranking for searches such as “accountant Portsmouth”, “defence contractor Solent” or “ferry logistics Portsmouth”, and improves visibility on Google Maps.

Write the 023 number in the same format everywhere — same spacing, same separators — because Google only links citations together when they match. CallFactory uses the Ofcom-recommended format 023 XXXX XXXX, so you can copy it into every listing without introducing variations.

Portsmouth-based online retailers frequently report a lift in phone enquiries once they display a 023 number alongside a mobile or 0800 line. A 023 reads as local, established and maritime-savvy, so customers hesitate less before dialling, which is especially valuable for higher-value purchases where a quick conversation closes the sale.

For professional services firms — legal, financial, creative, consulting — the 023 works as a trust marker on LinkedIn posts, email signatures and Google Ads. You can split inbound calls between the 023 and any other numbers you run, which lets you attribute leads to the marketing channel that generated the call.

If you already hold a 023 number with another UK provider, we can port it across at no cost. You keep the existing number and gain the CallFactory feature set — call queues, recording, analytics, IVR — on top of it. Porting itself takes up to five working days and we schedule the cut-over for a date that works for you, which keeps your line live until the moment the number transfers.

If you would rather pick a fresh, unused 023 number — perhaps one with a memorable digit pattern in the 023 92 or 023 93 Portsmouth range — the number picker at the top of this page shows live availability. We hold stock across the full 023 range so you can choose whichever reads best for your brand.

Many Portsmouth businesses run a 023 alongside another number. Common combinations include:

• 023 + 07 — the 023 on the website and in advertising, a 07 mobile for existing clients who want direct contact. Forwarding from the 023 to a mobile is included by default.
• 023 + 0333 — the 023 for local customers and a national 0333 number for UK-wide enquiries at standard geographic rates. Both lines land in the same call flow.
• 023 + 0800 — the 023 for general reachability and a 0800 freephone number for sales hotlines or campaigns, so callers dial at no cost while you cover the inbound minutes.

All combinations run on a single CallFactory account. Current rates for additional numbers are listed on the pricing page.

A Portsmouth 023 number contains 11 digits in total: the area code 023 followed by an 8-digit subscriber number.

Standard format: 023 XXXX XXXX (Portsmouth numbers typically start 023 92 or 023 93)

Use the same format everywhere — your website, Google Business Profile, invoices and directories — because identical formatting is what allows search engines to tie your listings together.

The 023 number is part of your CallFactory business plan. There are no connection fees and no setup charges. The plan price depends on which features you activate — IVR, call queues, voicebots, call recording — and whether you pay monthly or annually, since the annual plan is cheaper per month. If you need several 023 numbers, for example one per office or department, we add them to the same account.

All monthly contracts come with a one-month notice period. Every feature, plan and rate is listed on the pricing page.