Swire Group patriarch Sir Adrian Swire has died at the age of 86.

The former chairman of the John Swire & Sons empire saw himself as a shipowner first, despite the group having a large stake in Cathay Pacific Airlines and wide property interests.

Shipping occupied most of his working hours, The Times newspaper reported.

"If I can claim to have ever had any sort of profession, however dubious, it is as a shipowner," he once wrote.