Rami Cassis on

Special situations

Accelerated sales, pre-packs and other time-critical deals, with a buyer who keeps the business running.

3 newsletters, 2 videos, 8 in the media. Updated 28 Oct 2026

Rami's approach

What I do

I buy businesses in time-critical and complex situations and keep them trading as going concerns. That covers accelerated sales, pre-pack administrations in the UK, 363 sales in the US, and carve-outs of non-core assets where ownership has to change hands without the business stopping. I invest my own capital through Parabellum Investments, so the sequence is short. I take the position from the appointed advisers, work within their process, form a view on the operations rather than waiting on the financials, decide, and sign. Then I set out a day-one plan covering customers, suppliers and jobs before completion rather than after it.

How I work

A special situations expert is judged on speed with certainty, and certainty comes from who is making the decision. I am the principal and the capital is mine, so there is no investment committee to brief and no limited partners to satisfy, which is what usually kills a process running to weeks. I have taken controlling stakes in businesses since 2007, starting with a corporate disposal that was haemorrhaging cash and back in growth within a year. I treat the first 30 days after completion as the decisive period and work it in person, on clients, past clients, talent at every level and the workflows that actually move the business.

When to bring me in

Bring in a special situations expert when a sale has to complete in weeks rather than months and the counterparty needs to be one that can actually sign. The same applies when a lender or an administrator wants a buyer who will not reopen terms late in the process, or when the business is worth more intact than broken up and needs an operator in the room rather than a financial sponsor standing back from it. I work alongside the appointed advisers and respect the process they are running. I do not give legal or insolvency advice.

Questions about special situations

What does Rami Cassis actually do on special situations deals?
Rami Cassis buys controlling stakes in time-critical deals through Parabellum Investments, his family office, using only his own capital. That covers accelerated sales, pre-packs and carve-outs of non-core assets in lower mid-market and mid-market businesses across technology, pharma and life sciences, oil and gas, mining and financial services. With no fund committee behind him, Rami Cassis can move on a seller's timetable, then works inside the business rather than watching it from a board seat.
How soon does working with Rami Cassis show anything after a deal closes?
The first 30 days are where the decisive work happens, in the view of Rami Cassis, who publishes the blueprint he follows in a newsletter called The First 30 Days. It covers getting to know the business, overhauling culture and laying the foundations for growth. Rami Cassis rejects the convention that a credible growth plan needs three months or more to design.
How does Rami Cassis judge whether a special situations deal has worked?
Growth, and quickly. The first acquisition Rami Cassis made, a corporate disposal bought in 2007 that was hemorrhaging cash, was back in growth within twelve months of takeover and went on to lead its BPO segment. The signals he reads are not only financial: what clients and past clients say, whether junior and senior talent stays, and whether workflows and product-market fit hold up.
How is Rami Cassis different from an investor who backs the CEO and stays out of the way?
Rami Cassis treats total CEO autonomy as a mistake rather than good practice. He stays in the weeds on clients, culture, talent and workflows alongside the chief executive, which he separates clearly from micromanaging, instead of acting as a financial figurehead. In lower mid-market and mid-market businesses, where processes are less mature than in corporates, Rami Cassis argues operational intervention from the investor matters more, not less.
When should someone bring Rami Cassis into a deal, and when is he not the right call?
Sellers running an accelerated sale, a pre-pack or the disposal of a non-core asset should approach Rami Cassis while the business is still trading, since the work he does starts the day ownership changes. Rami Cassis invests solely his own capital and takes controlling stakes, so a minority position, or passive backing for a management team that wants to be left alone, is not what he does.

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