The FCA’s decision to charge Richard Bloomfield follows the Seraphine Group PLC takeover process from legal advisory work in 2022 and early 2023 into a criminal insider dealing case now heading to Southwark Crown Court.
The case puts transaction confidentiality, personal account dealing and restricted-list controls under scrutiny for law firms working on listed-company acquisitions.
The FCA said Bloomfield, 38, has been charged with five counts of insider dealing. It alleges that, while working as a solicitor at a law firm, he worked on an acquisition of Seraphine Group PLC and used inside information obtained through that role to deal in the company’s securities on five occasions between 28 March 2022 and 10 January 2023.
Bloomfield appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court, gave no indication of plea, and has been released on unconditional bail. The case has been sent to Southwark Crown Court, where his next appearance is listed for 5 August 2026.
Goodwin advised Mayfair Equity Partners on the take-private transaction involving Seraphine Group, the maternity and nursing wear business that had listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2021.
The FCA has said it is not investigating the law firm or Seraphine Group PLC. Mayfair agreed in January 2023 to acquire the remaining stake in Seraphine, with the offer becoming unconditional two months later. Seraphine later went into administration, before its brand and intellectual property were sold to Next.
The alleged trades fall within the deal period, when confidential acquisition information was being handled before completion. The professional issue for solicitors is not whether a firm has been accused of wrongdoing; on the FCA’s case, it has not.
The compliance question is whether firms can show who received inside information, when trading restrictions were applied, how deal teams were supervised, and whether personal dealing declarations were monitored during sensitive M&A work. In-house counsel instructing external advisers on acquisitions should expect tighter questions on information barriers, staff access, insider lists, document permissions and post-matter access removal.
Barristers instructed in insider dealing proceedings will watch how prosecutors link professional access to the alleged trades under section 52 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993.
Law firm management should read the FCA case as a warning that listed-company mandates can create criminal exposure for individuals and reputational risk for firms, even where no firm misconduct is alleged.
Goodwin has not been accused of wrongdoing, but the case shows why personal dealing policies need to be tested against live M&A workflows rather than kept as annual compliance documents. Southwark Crown Court now carries the next procedural step, with Bloomfield due to appear on 5 August 2026.