CLEARWATER, Fla. — On Wednesday, Nicholas Financial announced it has opened two new branch offices located in Nashville, Tenn., and Grand Rapids, Mich.

The new offices expand Nicholas Financial's branch network to 52 locations. The company expects to open a fifth branch in the greater Atlanta metro area during the current quarter, bringing the total number of branch offices to 53 in 12 states.

Company officials indicated that they will continue to evaluate potential branch locations in both new and existing markets and intend to add three to five new branches during the 2011 fiscal year, which began April 1.