The UK has the opportunity to become an independent global trading hub after Brexit, according to Spanish business leaders visiting London as part of the first state visit by Spain’s king in 30 years.

The delegation said factors that make the UK an attractive place to do business now could help it prosper once it has left the European Union and help it echo the success of Asian economic power Singapore, which has benefited from global trade and by investing in other countries.

“The economy, its geographic location and a currency that is respected could make the UK the hub that has the advantages of a certain independence with all the advantages of being an accepted trade partner to the EU and the US,” Gerard Lopez, president of Spanish IT company Plexus, said.

“There’s a role to be played as a quasi-independent.”

Telefonica chief executive José María Álvarez-Pallete López was equally upbeat, saying the rules of the ongoing tech revolution will be written in the next few years and that the UK “can be at the forefront of that”.

But the business chiefs urged the Government to set out a clear path for Brexit because it was the “grey area” that created uncertainty and could hinder investment in the UK economy.