Small caps round-up: China Food Company, Blinkx, Lokn'Store

China Food Company, a manufacturer of cooking and dipping sauces, said it was proceeding with the sale of its animal feed business for $16m. The firm said the first payment of $4.5m was now expected by mid-August due to unexpected regulatory delays on the part of the buyer, Wisehand Planning. Following the announcement of the delay shareholders pushed CFC's shares down 1%.

Blinkx, the video search engine, has announced a partnership with Kiplinger, a publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice. It said the tie up would give Blinkx users access to informative videos on everything from stock tips to smart saving suggestions.

Lok'nStore, the AIM listed self-storage company, said it had extended lease on one of its existing stores by ten years on improved terms. The agreement will produce an annual saving of around £60,000 in rent and service charge over the coming five years, increasing the operating income of the store by approximately 25%, the firm said. Investors liked the sound of that and shares rose 3.5%.

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It wasn't much of a welcome for the new Chief Executive at Oxford Advanced Surfaces, the AIM listed technology developer, as shares dropped on his appointment. The company's value fell 2.6% after the firm said Meldrum, currently Business Development Director at IQE, would be joining Oxford in October.

Spark Ventures is to sell the on-going business of Aspex Semiconductor to Ericsson and return the proceeds to Aspex shareholders. When combined with loan repayments to Spark by Aspex, the deal could net Spark over £7m. "The board continues to expect that another substantial return of cash to shareholders will be made during the Autumn, although the exact timing of such a repayment is largely dependent upon the timing of receipts from Aspex," Spark added.

MM