Based in East London, the company moved from Forest Gate to Harold Wood in 1973.

[1] Initially the company concentrated on producing woodwork for other companies, principally for Dallas Arbiter under the Hayman brand (until 1975); for Jim Burns himself under the Burns London banner; "Ned Callan" and Rosetti.

When the contract for the Hayman guitars came to an end, the Shergold company found themselves with significant stocks of part finished instruments and raw materials.

In 1983, Norman left the company to emigrate to Australia, but would return to the country (but not to Shergold) within a few years.

Shergold pioneered features that would be used by other manufacturers (bi-directional truss rod, semi-neck-through-body on the Cavalier), and others that have been forgotten (interchangeable control electronics on the Modulator series).