My dear friend, I apologise' - Markus Jooste

"My dear friend, I apologise for the damage I caused Steinhoff. I made big mistakes and now I have to pay the price for it."

This SMS, which Markus Jooste, former chief executive of Steinhoff, allegedly sent to a friend on December 6, 2017 was revealed in court documents last week in a trial relating to legal action against him and Steinhoff.

The trial dealt with an exception Jooste lodged to a claim of R740m which the trustees of Le Toit Trust, including Jaap du Toit, founding member and former long-time director of the PSG Group, brought against him. The court also heard Jooste's exception in a separate claim for the same amount against Steinhoff, in which he had been joined as a third party.

The claim by Le Toit Trust relates to PSG shares Du Toit swapped for Steinhoff shares in 2015.

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