THERESA May and Philip Hammond will meet with more than 100 UK business leaders at a post-Budget and pre-Brexit summit next week, Downing Street has said.

They will address and take questions from some 120 chief executives and investors on Wednesday, two days after the Chancellor presents the last scheduled Budget before Britain leaves the EU in March.

Downing Street said the meeting, believed to be the first of its kind to be undertaken, was a joint initiative of the Prime Minister and Mr Hammond.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "The Budget is always a significant event for business and the country at large so it is an opportunity to update some of the core messages from the Budget.

"But equally we are approaching March 29 next year and the PM wants to make sure that business are fully engaged in what the Government are doing and to provide them with information and updates."

He was unable to say at this stage where the event would take place or who would be attending.

Asked if the business meeting was a sign of panic on Mrs May’s part, her spokesman said: “No, it’s an exercise in engagement.”

The announcement follows a conference call the PM held with a similar-sized group of business leaders last week.

In a 35-minute conference call with around 120 company bosses to update them on the progress in the exit talks, she was said to have accepted uncertainty could be having an impact on UK firms.

Last Friday, Downing Street said Mrs May told the business leaders that "significant progress" had been made in the talks but "acknowledged that there were a few significant issues that were still outstanding".