TELEVISION troubleshooter Sir John Harvey Jones has warned a capacity audience at the University of Bath in Swindon that British businesses needed to innovate or they would die.

Sir John, the captain of British industry who became a household name with his BBC TV series Troubleshooter, delivered the stark message in his public lecture Business: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

"Don't wait until trends are obvious," said Sir John.

"The key is speed. Innovation requires the most up to date knowledge, so it's crucial to understand where the trend of knowledge is going. You need to prepare now for an even tougher world ahead."

Sir John, who was voted Britain's Most Impressive Industrialist for three years running by his peers, and who chaired ICI, said that the days when everyone could make a living doing the same as everyone else were gone.

"Even the smallest company needs a niche," said Sir John.

"The great thing about niches is they're too small to attract attention from the big guys.

"Remember, too, that there's no neutral gear in business. You're either going forward or going backwards.

"As a general rule, if anything is being done in your business in the same way today as it was three years ago, it's being done the wrong way. Everything should change."

Before the lecture, Sir John took time to visit the Swindon Innovation Centre at the university's Oakfield campus.

There he met entrepreneur

Damon Oldcorn, CEO of Nichegnat, which offers web conferencing facilities, and Ron Humphreys, director of Innovation Centres at the university.

Sir John praised the Swindon Innovation Centre and the university, which is planning to establish an internationally recognised Integrated Manufacturing and Advanced Technology Institute in the Swindon area, for its input into manufacturing.

"The university has a formidable background of skills and I'm thankful for that," he said.