Irving-based software company Grace Hill has acquired The Shadow Agency in a move that will combine the companies’ technology, solutions, and personnel to provide an elevated mystery shopping experience for customers.
Grace Hill is an innovator of talent and performance management solutions for commercial and multifamily real estate.
The Shadow Agency—based in Colleyville west of DFW Airport—is a full-service mystery shopping company providing services to numerous industries, including multifamily real estate, home building, and retail operations.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mystery shopping involves the use of undercover shoppers to secretly evaluate a business’s customer service. The procedure captures valuable data about the customer shopping experience across several industries and can include recorded telephone shopping, onsite evaluations, and more.
“The Shadow Agency CEO Russell Wood and his team have developed a world-class mystery shopping business with a deep understanding of the housing industry, including multifamily,” Grace Hill CEO Kendall Pretzer said in a statement. “This acquisition will leverage the expertise of both companies and we are confident that together, we are better positioned to serve the mystery shopping industry as a whole and continue to exceed real estate’s current mystery shopping capabilities.”
For multifamily operators, Grace Hill said clients can utilize the service to capture essential insights and data about the renter experience, enabling them to gain an accurate understanding of their staff and operational performance.
“The customer-first approach to service at The Shadow Agency, as well as the company’s core values and mission, align perfectly with Grace Hill’s,” Pretzer said.
‘The immense value of tangible feedback’
Grace Hill said that it’s committed to providing best-in-class solutions to improve property performance and development and that this partnership will enable a superior mystery shopping experience, recorded telephone shopping, and traditional onsite evaluations.
Established in 1994, The Shadow Agency pioneered the video mystery shopping industry and then expanded to provide customers with a diverse mix of mystery shops, including video, in-person, phone, virtual, and the internet. The Shadow Agency employees will join the Grace Hill brand.
“The decision to join the Grace Hill family was an easy one. Grace Hill and The Shadow Agency both understand the immense value of tangible feedback in multifamily and CRE, as well as building strong relationships with customers. We’ve come to know and trust the company and its leadership team,” Wood said in a statement. “This partnership will enable us to build upon the goal of improving operations while delivering critical insights for owners and operators.”
Grace Hill said it has created a new mystery shopping department headed by Jennifer Blankenship, who currently serves as its vice president of support services.
This latest acquisition by Grace Hill, a subsidiary of Aurora Capital Partners, continues to broaden the company’s mystery shopping solutions. In 2022, Grace Hill acquired mystery shopping provider Ellis.
Aurora Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused principally on control investments in middle-market companies with leading market positions, stable industry dynamics, attractive business model characteristics and actionable opportunities for growth in partnership with management.
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