An independent company was originally a unit raised by the English Army, subsequently the British Army, during the 17th and 18th centuries for garrison duties in Britain and the overseas colonies. The units were not part of larger battalions or regiments, although they may have originally been detached from them, and the units would remain permanently assigned to the garrison.

In the 20th century, the name was used for a temporary expeditionary formation of the British Army during the Second World War. Initially, there were ten independent companies, which were raised from volunteers from Territorial Army divisions in April 1940. They were intended for guerrilla-style operations in the Allied campaign in Norway. The companies were disbanded after returning to Britain at the end of the campaign but No. 11 Company was formed from volunteers from the first ten Independent Companies on 14 June 1940 and took part in the first British commando raid, Operation Collar.

After the Second World War, the concept of the independent company was maintained in the airborne forces with the formation of a pair of company-sized units operating independently within larger formations.

Early in 1940, the British Army had been making plans for a campaign in Norway, ostensibly to support Finland in the Winter War against the Soviet Union, which then had a non-aggression pact with Germany. When the Finns capitulated on 12 March 1940, the troops that were assigned to the operation were instead sent to France. Nevertheless, contingency planning continued. That included MI(R), a department of the War Office responsible for irregular operations, which was asked to plan for raids on the Norwegian coast. The department's head, Colonel J.C.F Holland, summoned Lieutenant Colonel Colin Gubbins, who led MI(R)'s mission in Paris, to prepare and train the troops.

On 9 April, the Germans launched Operation Weserübung by occupying Oslo and Narvik and several other ports in Norway, which took the allies by surprise. On 13 April, Holland submitted MI(R)'s first proposals to the War Office. He intended to break up the Lovat Scouts to form the raiding parties. However, the Scouts' commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Melville, objected and instead Holland proposed to form the Independent Companies.

Ten companies were formed from volunteers from Territorial Army divisions that were still stationed in Great Britain:

The establishment of each company was 21 officers and 268 other ranks, organised as three platoons, each of three sections. Some personnel from the Royal Engineers and Royal Signals were attached to each company headquarters. As the companies were intended to be mobile in rough terrain and to operate independently for several days, they were lightly equipped. Each company's only heavy weapons were Bren light machine guns, a single Boys anti-tank rifle and some two-inch mortars in a support section. The companies therefore were unsuitable for holding fixed defences or mounting rearguard actions.

Gubbins realised that the soldiers and junior officers of the newly-raised companies were untrained in mountain and irregular warfare. He therefore requested for 20 selected officers of the Indian Army, with experience in the North-West Frontier to be attached to the independent companies. The selected officers flew from Karachi to Britain aboard the Imperial Airways flying boat Cathay.