Founders Sir David McMurtry, executive chairman, and John Deer, non-executive deputy chairman, have announced they will sell their 53 per cent holding in the company.
The company’s board is now exploring a number of options, including selling the business to a new owner.
Renishaw, which was established in 1973, employs more than 2,500 people in the UK and has its headquarters at New Mills near Wotton-under-Edge.