City lawyer pleads not guilty to insider dealing charges
A City lawyer has pleaded not guilty to five counts of alleged insider dealing for trading in the assets of maternity fashion brand Seraphine Group.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed in July that it charged Richard Bloomfield, 38, with allegedly using inside information he obtained while advising on the buyout of London-listed maternity brand Seraphine Group.
He was accused of using insider knowledge of the proposed acquisition to buy and sell shares on the stock market.
The City watchdog stated that it is not investigating either the law firm involved or Seraphine.
The case was sent to Southwark Crown Court, where he was initially expected to plead on 5 August, but the case was adjourned to 11 September.
On Friday, dressed in a navy suit, he pleaded not guilty to all five charges of alleged insider dealings related to acquiring shares on five different occasions between 28 March 2022 and 10 January 2023 on the London Stock Exchange ahead of the proposed acquisition.
Bloomfield’s lawyer, Alison Clare KC, proposed 11 September 2028 for trial, to which the prosecutor raised no objection, and Judge Baumgartner agreed. Another case management hearing will occur on 13 September 2027.
Seraphine Group shares had plunged in 2022, prompting private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners to take it private in April 2023. At the end of 2025, retail giant Next stepped in and bought the maternity clothing company out of administration, paying just £500,000 to acquire Seraphine’s brand name and intellectual property, and it now operates under Next’s ownership.
Bloomfield was an M&A lawyer who qualified in 2012 at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, where he remained until 2016.
He moved to Bird & Bird as a senior associate, then joined the US law firm Goodwin Procter before leaving earlier this year to become chief legal officer and general counsel at a legal tech firm.