---
title: "Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust rating | CharityCompare"
description: "Is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust a legitimate UK charity? Clarity Score 84/100. Accounts 2025: income £4.3m · 92% on charitable activities. Reg 293188."
source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/portsmouth-historic-quarter-trust
retrieved: 2026-08-18T02:08:25.439Z
license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0"
---

Quick answer

## Is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust a good charity?

Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust scores 84/100 (4 stars, Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£4.3m total income, 92% of spending on charitable activities). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.

Portsmouth · PO1 3LJ |
Reg [293188](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/portsmouth-historic-quarter-trust) | Registered charity | [Official website](https://portsmouthhq.org/) | [Charity Commission register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/293188)

Donate

## How can you give to Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust?

You leave CharityCompare to complete a donation on the official Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust form. We do not process payments or take commission. Opens their official online donation form.

[Donate](https://portsmouthhq.org/?utm_source=charitycompare&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=donate&utm_content=293188)

## What does Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust do?

Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust is a registered charity (no. 293188) working in heritage in Portsmouth · PO1 3LJ. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 92% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 28 months of reserves, though its recent accounts were filed late. Reported income has been declining (≈6% a year). CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes.

Summarised from public filings — Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust hasn't added its own description yet. [Work here? Add it free →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/claim?charity=portsmouth-historic-quarter-trust)

**In short:** Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust scores 84 out of 100 (4 stars). 92% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.

## What is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust?

Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust has a Clarity Score of 84 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars, Good). Charity Commission registration number 293188. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Heritage. Latest accounts year 2025: total income £4.3m, with 92% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: late. Reserves: approximately 28 months of operating costs. 1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.

Data from [Charity Commission register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/), last updated 17 July 2026.

Overall score

84/100

4★ · Good

Cause spend

92%

3-yr avg · charitable activities

Accountability

75/100

Finance beacon

Income

£4.3m

Latest year 2025

Reserves

28 mo

Months of running costs

Accounts filing

Late

Check register

£65.8 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) ·
13% overhead · Website on register ·
Confidence: medium

## How does Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust compare?

Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust scores higher than.

Income band (£1m–£5m)65thpercentile

**Scores higher than 65% of 2,776 charities in its income band** · 84/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).

Heritage charities70thpercentile

**Scores higher than 70% of 151 charities in this cause** · 84/100 vs 77 peer average (marker).

## How reliable is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's data?

Source

Charity Commission (England & Wales)

Accounts year

2025

Filing date

24 June 2026

Profile reviewed

17 July 2026

Medium confidence — some data missing or late

Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources:
[Charity Commission for England and Wales](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/),
[Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator](https://www.oscr.org.uk/) and
[Charity Commission for Northern Ireland](https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/).
[Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/).

## What is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's Beacon report?

Detailed accountability and finance metrics from UK regulator filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.

### Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

75/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Filing history (5 years) 100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts. | 33% | 5/15 pts |
| Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three). | 100% | 11 trustees · 15/15 pts |
| Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 100% | 10/10 pts |

### Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

80/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 87% | 28 months · 13/15 pts |
| Income stability / growth +20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between. | 70% | 7/10 pts · 3-year average |
| Liabilities to assets 0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt. | 80% | 8% · 4/5 pts |

### Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 100% | 92% · 10/10 pts (3-year average) |
| Fundraising efficiency ≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 100% | 2p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average) |

### Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

100/100
| Metric | Score | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Volunteer-to-staff ratio Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between. | 100% | 96 volunteers / 33 staff · 10/10 pts |

[How we calculate beacon scores →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology)

## What is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's Clarity Score?

84/100 total · Good · 4 of 5 stars

Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.

75/100

Accountability & Transparency

80/100

Financial Health

100/100

Financial Efficiency

100/100

Community Support

### Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

75/100

Filing history (5 years)5/15 pts

Trustee oversight11 trustees · 15/15 pts

Declared policies10/10 pts

### Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

80/100

Reserves (months of cash)28 months · 13/15 pts

Income stability / growth7/10 pts · 3-year average

Liabilities to assets8% · 4/5 pts

### Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

100/100

Program expense ratio92% · 10/10 pts (3-year average)

Fundraising efficiency2p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (3-year average)

### Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

100/100

Volunteer-to-staff ratio96 volunteers / 33 staff · 10/10 pts

## How much does Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust raise and spend?

Latest filed year 2025 · Source: Charity Commission filings
| Category | Amount | % of spend |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Total income | £4.3m | — |
| Total expenditure | £3.9m | — |
| Charitable activities | £3.6m | 94% |
| Fundraising | £60k | 2% |
| Governance & admin | £619k | 16% |

94%On charitable activities

## Where does the money go?

Latest accounts (2025) · £3.9m spent

- Charitable activities94% · £3.6m
- Fundraising2% · £60k
- Governance16% · £619k

## What trust indicators does Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust have?

Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.

- — Accounts filed on time

Filing status: late

- ✓ Trustee board size (3–12)

11 trustees on the Charity Commission register

- ✓ Workforce on register

33 employees · 96 volunteers (3:1 volunteer-to-staff)

Fundraising Regulator

Status not yet checked

Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice.

[Check Fundraising Regulator →](https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/members/)

Official register

Reg 293188

Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.

[View on Charity Commission →](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/293188)

### Trustees & officers

- Cllr Stephen Mark Christopher Pitt since 2018
- Professor Virginia Adair Gibson since 2019
- Rear Admiral Rex John Cox since 2022
- Dr Tarek Teba since 2023
- Helen Green since 2023
- Simon Verdon since 2023
- BENJAMIN FRENCH since 2023
- Graham Morrison since 2024
- William James Croser since 2026
- Mark John Goulding since 2026
- Jonathan William Mercer Trice since 2026

100
How we score charities
+The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.

[Full methodology →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology)

Accountability & Transparency

Scored from filings

40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).

Financial Health

Scored from filings

30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).

Financial Efficiency

Scored from filings

20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).

Community Support

Scored from filings

10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.

Overall score

Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.

## How have Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's finances changed over five years?

- Income
- Spending
- Cause spend

Values in £ thousands · Cause spend plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission accounts

## What are the key facts about Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust?

Overall score

84/100 (4★)

Income

£4.3m

Cause spend

92% of expenditure

Reg number

293188

Scope

Local (portsmouth)

Reserves

28 months

Trustees

11

Accounts year

2025

Filing

late

## How does Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust compare, and where else can you look?

[Compare Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust with others](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities?ids=portsmouth-historic-quarter-trust) [More heritage charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/heritage) [How we score charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology)

### Where Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust sits

The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.

- [heritage charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/heritage)
- [environment charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/environment)
- [arts charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/arts)
- [community charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/community)
- [Charities in Portsmouth](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/cities/portsmouth)

### Similar heritage charities

Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score

- [HARTLEBURY CASTLE PRESERVATION TRUST](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/hartlebury-castle-preservation-trust) 100/100 · £612k
- [ST BARTHOLOMEW'S HERITAGE](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/st-bartholomew-s-heritage) 99/100 · £5.7m
- [JANE AUSTEN'S HOUSE MUSEUM](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/jane-austen-s-house-museum) 98/100 · £2.0m
- [MILTON KEYNES MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/milton-keynes-museum-trust-limited) 98/100 · £763k

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## What red flags does Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust have?

## Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

Is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust a good charity? + Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust scores 84 out of 100 (4 stars — Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 92% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are late. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.

Is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust a legitimate charity? + Yes — Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 293188). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/293188. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact.

What is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's charity number? + Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's charity number is 293188. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals.

What is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's charity rating? + Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust scores 84 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars — Good). The Clarity Score V1 sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking.

Does Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust have reviews and complaints? + CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (1 filing concern(s) noted on this profile). For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.

How much of my donation reaches Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust? + According to its 2025 regulator filing, 92% of Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's total spending went to charitable activities (3-yr avg across disclosed years). That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift.

What are Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's overheads? + According to its 2025 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 1% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 13% of total expenditure at Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's chief executive is paid — where disclosure rules apply, senior pay appears in the trustees' annual report on the Charity Commission register.

How much income does Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust receive? + Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust reported £4.3m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: declining.

Are Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's accounts up to date? + Filing status: late (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.

Where is Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust based? + Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust is listed at Portsmouth · PO1 3LJ, focused on heritage.

How does CharityCompare score Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust? + We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought.

How often is this page updated? + This profile was last updated on 17 July 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and Portsmouth Historic Quarter Trust's most recent accounts cover 2025. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.