Aviva Premiership side Gloucester Rugby has continued its strong performances off the field by reporting pre-tax profits of £512,000 – up nearly 68 per cent on the previous year.

It is the fourth year running that the club has reported profits, a rare occurrence among elite English rugby clubs. Sale Sharks, Saracens, Bath Rugby, London Wasps and Worcester Rugby are among the teams to have posted heavy losses during the last financial year.

Gloucester filed its latest set of accounts this week, revealing a turnover of £12m, up 3.7 per cent on the previous year.

According to CEO Steve Vaughan, the club has managed to deliver a profit at a time it is making record investments in coaching, playing and support staff, as well as developing the rugby environment at its Hartpury Training Centre.

It has also invested in redeveloping its home stadium Kingsholm, which is set to host four games at Rugby World Cup 2015.

“It has, of course, been a challenging 12 months,” Vaughan said. “These results have been achieved despite what was a tough season on the field of play.

“For the club to increase turnover and profit reflects the hard work of everyone at the club, and is also thanks to the continued magnificent support of our sponsors and supporters who have been first class in every respect.”

Gloucester Rugby has introduced a number of operative improvements in recent years to boost its revenue streams.

Among other projects, the club launched a cashless payment system to parts of the stadium, on top of introducing an interest free direct debit option to spread the cost of Club Membership.

• To read a full interview with Steve Vaughan and to find out more about the clubs future plans, click here for Issue 2 of Sports Management magazine.