US president-elect Donald Trump said he would offer the UK a "quick" and "fair" trade deal and expects to meet prime minister Theresa May shortly after taking office, the Times quoted him as saying in an interview.

“We’re going to work very hard to get it done quickly and done properly. Good for both sides,” Trump said in the interview conducted by Michael Gove, a former Conservative cabinet minister who was one of the leaders of the Brexit campaign. “We’re going to get something done very quickly.”

The UK, which plans to start two years of negotiations to leave the European Union by the end of March, cannot strike new trade deals on its own until it has left the EU, or at least left the bloc's customs union. Still, Trump's comments are likely to buoy May's government, which is attempting to show European counterparts that it can prosper outside the EU, and that Europe has as much to lose from a disorderly split as Britain.

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson visited Trump's team last week and returned with reports of goodwill toward Britain as it navigates Brexit. That contrasted with the stance of outgoing president Barack Obama, who said during the referendum campaign that Britain would be "at the back of the queue" for any trade accord if it voted to leave the bloc.