Outlander star Sam Heughan bankrolled boxing business run by shamed actor
We can reveal that OUTLANDER star Sam Heughan funded a boxing business run by a disgraced actor.
The 43-year-old actor made a £50,000 loan to Paul Donnelly’s company BXNG Ltd – linked to a charity facing a lawsuit from regulators.
3
3
3
We previously reported that Donnelly, 46, had also come under fire for a debt collection company he was a director at, claiming the company had cheated business owners out of tens of thousands of pounds.
Now documents obtained by The Scottish Sun on Sunday show how he received a cash injection from his favorite TV series.
Both appear in the hit Starz time travel drama, in which Heughan plays hero Jamie Fraser while Donnelly has a supporting role as former prison guard Ronnie Sinclair.
And they linked up financially in 2021, around the time BXNG opened its gym in Milngavie, near Glasgow.
Heughan made his advance before serious concerns about Donnelly’s behavior arose.
A paper filed with Companies House reads: “The granting of a £50,000 loan to the company pursuant to a loan agreement between the company and Sam Heughan.”
Donnelly’s gym is also the base for the charity In Your Corner.
Founded in 2020, the company aims to provide free boxing and self-defense classes to adults with mental health issues and survivors of domestic and gender-based violence.
But In Your Corner is at risk of being removed for failing to provide financial information to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
Your first invoice is now six months overdue.
After we reached out to Donnelly, he admitted Heughan had backed him and promised to get his finances in order.
He said: “Firstly, Sam has been an extremely generous supporter of BXNG and the charity In Your Corner. We were extremely grateful to him for his support.
“As a benefactor, he does not play an active role in either BXNG or the charity.
“As a result, he has not received any payments or charitable contributions and has only been involved in helping a small business and local charity get started.”
Donnelly said In Your Corner’s overdue bills would be filed within “about a week”.
He added: “It has proven to be a complicated process, but we want them to be submitted urgently to show that we are a fully open and transparent organisation.”
“And we are absolutely confident that over time we will be able to fully repay these loans.”
A charity’s failure to provide financial details means OSCR officials cannot assess whether it meets the criteria to remain registered.
The new developments come two months after we announced that another Donnelly company had been accused of customer fraud.
Angry company owners told how they had to “go through hell” after dealing with Vanguard Partners – a subsidiary of Caledonian Group Services Ltd, which Donnelly headed as sole director from July 2018 until he stepped down in February this year.
Juliette Thomas, 58, from London, signed an agreement for Vanguard to collect a £49,747 debt before being billed an additional £3,780 in alleged court fees in January 2021.
No documents have been sent showing that legal proceedings have been initiated and she still does not know if the original debts were ever collected.
In April, we said she was later refunded the £3,780 fee with no reason given.
The mother-of-four said, “Maybe Sam Heughan isn’t aware of any of this.”
An OSCR spokesman said: “Communication with the charity is ongoing. We will not be making any further comments during our inquiry process.”
Heughan’s representatives have been contacted for comment.
We pay for your stories and videos! Do you have a story or video for The Scottish Sun? Email us at scoop@thesun.co.uk or call 0141 420 5200