Ex-City deals lawyer charged with five counts of insider dealing

A former City lawyer has been charged with five counts of insider dealing after allegedly using confidential information obtained while advising on a corporate transaction to trade shares in maternity fashion retailer Seraphine.

The FCA said on Wednesday it had charged solicitor Richard Bloomfield over five alleged instances of insider dealing between March 2022 and January 2023.

According to the regulator, the trades took place while Bloomfield was working on Seraphine Group's acquisition.

Bloomfield appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court, where he gave no indication of plea, the FCA said. The case has been sent to Southwark Crown Court, with his next appearance scheduled for 5 August. He was released on unconditional bail.

The FCA said it is not investigating either the law firm involved or Seraphine.

City career

Bloomfield is understood to have qualified as an M&A lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills in 2012 before joining Bird & Bird in 2016. He later moved to Goodwin and is understood to have recently joined a legal support startup as chief legal officer and general counsel.

Seraphine was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 before being taken private by Mayfair Equity Partners in a £15 million deal in May 2023, with Goodwin’s London office advising the private equity firm.

The business entered administration in 2025 before being acquired by Next.

Another insider dealing case

The case is the second insider dealing allegation this year involving a former Goodwin lawyer.

In May, US authorities accused another ex-Goodwin lawyer of sitting at the centre of an alleged insider trading network that used confidential information about takeover deals to make millions of dollars in illegal profits.

The two matters are unrelated and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Goodwin.