Clearwater, Florida, - May 23, 2007: Nicholas Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq, NICK), today announced the opening of a Central Purchasing Center (CPC), that will underwrite automobile loans and service loan contracts from its headquarters location in Clearwater, Florida. The primary focus of the CPC staff will be to establish a presence for the Company in new markets. The new venture will also allow the testing and development of Nicholas Financial’s loan origination programs in new markets to determine the viability of Company’s sales strategies in a given area. The CPC will also provide Nicholas with a rapid response team to support established branch offices that require assistance in certain circumstances.

The Central Purchasing Center is one initiative in a larger campaign to spur Company expansion, which will also include the goals of significantly growing the size of loan portfolios in existing branch offices and the acquisition of loan contract portfolios in bulk.

Vice President of Branch Operations Doug Marohn stated, “In previous years we employed a similar strategy to initiate Nicholas Financial’s presence in new markets prior to the establishment of branch office locations. We believe that the Company can use the CPC department to not only open up new markets but in some cases support markets indefinitely whether or not the establishment of a full service branch location is warranted.”

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