Private White VC Limited was registered as a public limited company in 2010, but has a long history as a waterproof clothing manufacturer in Salford.

The original factory was opened in 1853, on the banks of the River Irwell, under a different company name. Throughout its history, it has manufactured high end waterproof clothing, including gaberdine trench coats during the First World War and waterproof parkas for the RAF during the Second World War, alongside supplying outfitters in Saville Row, London.

The current company name derives from Private Jack White, VC, who joined the existing manufacturer as an apprentice pattern cutter after the First World War. By 1934, he was the general manager of the company, and in 1937 bought the company outright. Following Jack White's death in 1949, the company ownership changed hands. His descendants brought the company back into family ownership in 2007, and changed the company name in 2010.

In 2020, the company volunteered to convert its factory in Glossop to the production of medical gowns and face masks for the Department of Health & Social Care.