Drinks group Nichols has named Tim Croston, currently finance and operations boss of the Vimto soft drinks division, as its new finance director.Croston, 46, will start his new role on 1 January, filling the gap left by Taylor Purkis who stepped down as FD at the beginning of September.Brendan Hynes, chief executive and former finance chief, covered the job during the hunt for a permanent replacement.Qualified accountant, Croston, has headed the finance department at Vimto for the past two years. Before that he was financial controller at BSN Medical, part of Smith & Nephew.