Clearwater, Florida, - February 17, 2004: Nicholas Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq, NICK), today announced the Company’s expansion into the state of Virginia with the opening of a branch office in the Norfolk / Virginia Beach metropolitan area. The new branch, which is a full-service lending and collection facility, establishes Nicholas Financial's first formal presence in the state of Virginia. Nicholas employees have been working to develop business in the area for several months prior to the opening of the facility.

Commenting on the decision to move into the Virginia market, Matthew Foget, Vice President of Marketing stated, “During the past two years we have done an extensive analysis of the Norfolk metropolitan area and surrounding market with regard to specialized vehicle financing. We believe that this region of the country will provide the Company with the opportunity to continue with its expansion plans. The Company currently has employees in place to cultivate business in the Newport News and Richmond, Virginia markets and intends to open additional branch offices in these locations in the future."

In addition to the new location in Virginia, the Company operates twenty eight (28) branch offices in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Michigan.

Founded in 1985, with total assets of $99,677,000 as of December 31, 2003, Nicholas Financial is one of the largest publicly traded specialty consumer finance companies based in the Southeast. The Company has approximately 5,100,000 shares of common stock outstanding and has reported increased revenues and earnings for the past 13 years. For an index of Nicholas Financial, Inc.’s news releases or to obtain a specific release, visit our web site at www.nicholasfinancial.com.