City lawyer Richard Bloomfield, 38, has been charged by the Financial Conduct Authority with five counts of alleged insider dealing linked to maternity fashion brand Seraphine Group.
The FCA alleges Bloomfield used confidential information gained through his professional role to buy and sell shares in Seraphine Group on five occasions between 28 March 2022 and 10 January 2023.
Bloomfield worked on an acquisition of the City-based maternity clothing company, and the regulator claims he exploited inside information obtained through that role.
He appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court, where he gave no indication of a plea, and has since been released on unconditional bail.
The case has been referred to Southwark Crown Court, where his next scheduled appearance is on 5 August 2026.
Bloomfield is an M&A lawyer who qualified in 2012 at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, remaining there until 2019 before joining Bird & Bird as a senior associate.
He subsequently moved to US law firm Goodwin Procter, and earlier this year left to become chief legal officer and general counsel at LegalTech firm SuLe.
Goodwin said in a statement: “We are aware of the charges against our former employee. There are no allegations of wrongdoing by the firm, and we are not a subject of the FCA’s investigation. The firm has cooperated fully with the FCA and will not be commenting further at this time given the pending criminal proceedings.”
The FCA confirmed it is not investigating the law firm or Seraphine Group, and declined to comment further given the active criminal proceedings.
Seraphine first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 under the ticker symbol BUMP, building on its reputation as a favourite of the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, with shares hitting a high of 300p and a valuation of around £150m.
The company raised £56m from investors at its IPO before its share price immediately began to fall, dropping by almost 40 per cent in 2022 following a gloomy forecast citing “a number of margin and costs challenges.”
By late 2022, the share price had collapsed by over 90 per cent, trading near 10p, which prompted private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners to buy out original investors, acquiring the company for £15m and taking it private.
Despite returning to private ownership, Seraphine fell into administration just two years later in 2025, appointing administrators from Interpath Advisory.
Retail giant Next subsequently acquired Seraphine’s brand name and intellectual property out of administration for just £500,000, and the maternity clothing brand now operates under Next’s ownership.