Clearwater, Florida, - September 21, 2004: Nicholas Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq, NICK), today announced the opening of two new branch offices in the state of Virginia.  Located in Richmond and Fredericksburg, the offices continue the Company's planned expansion of its branch office network, which now includes thirty-four (34) branch offices in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, Ohio and Virginia.  Both new branch offices are full-service lending and collection facilities.  Nicholas employees have been working to develop business in each area for several months prior to the opening of the facilities.

Commenting on Nicholas Financial’s, newly opened branch offices, Peter Vosotas, President and C.E.O. stated, “We have positioned Nicholas representatives in Virginia during the past two years to establish a business presence within the state. During this period we have opened one full service branch facility in Virginia Beach and hired a seasoned Regional Director. In addition we have hired and trained experienced professionals to run our branch operations in all three of our current locations. We intend to continue the expansion of our branch office network in other Virginia locations in the future."

Founded in 1985, with assets of $108,600,000 as of June 30, 2004, Nicholas Financial is one of the largest publicly traded specialty consumer finance companies based in the Southeast. The Company presently operates out of 32 branch locations in both the Southeast and the Mid-West States. The Company has approximately 6,500,000 shares of common stock outstanding.

For an index of Nicholas Financial Inc.’s news releases or to obtain a specific release, visit our web site at
 www.nicholasfinancial.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's filings and reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such statements are based on the beliefs of the Company's management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Company management. Actual events or results may differ materially.

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