A former deals lawyer at the London office of US law firm Goodwin Procter has pleaded not guilty to insider trading related to maternity-wear company Seraphine Group, which went into insolvency last year. Richard Bloomfield, 38, entered his plea at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

Bloomfield faces five counts of insider dealing between March 2022 and January 2023 in relation to the acquisition of the retail company by private equity group Mayfair. A trial has been scheduled for September 2028. The charges were announced in July by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, which is prosecuting the case. Bloomfield was released on unconditional bail.

The prosecution is the second allegation of insider trading to hit Goodwin this year. An ex-lawyer at the Boston-founded firm was separately accused in May by US authorities of being at the heart of a network of illicit trading in shares based on confidential takeover information.

Seraphine, whose clothes were worn by Catherine, Princess of Wales during her pregnancies, fell into insolvency last year. The brand and intellectual property was subsequently sold to Next for £600,000. The FCA is not investigating Goodwin Procter or Seraphine. The maximum sentence for insider dealing in the UK is 10 years’ imprisonment.