3C Merges with Datalec to Create US$400M+ Revenue Liquid Cooling and Data Centre Services Platform

The combination brings together deep expertise in liquid cooling, mechanical and electrical (M&E) engineering, ODM manufacturing, connectivity and facilities management (FM), giving data centre operators worldwide a single partner from design through to operation.

3C, the liquid-cooling-led data centre infrastructure services company founded by former CoolIT Systems CEO Steve Walton, has merged with Datalec Precision Installations, the London-based data centre engineering specialist founded in 2012, to create 3C Datalec, a global platform that designs, builds and operates critical infrastructure for AI data centres.

Backed by new investment from Longbow Capital, S2G Investments, Apogem Capital and QIC, 3C Datalec will accelerate its international growth, invest in specialist talent and expand its technical capabilities as AI demand grows. Over the next 12 months, the company will hire 200 engineers and open new facilities in Warsaw, Poland; Calgary, Alberta; and Austin, Texas.

The combined business has approximately 1,000 team members and forecasts 2026 revenue to be over US$400 million, with offices and manufacturing facilities across Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and North America. It works with four of the five largest hyperscalers and over 25 colocation providers, alongside neoclouds and enterprise customers, with active projects in 16 countries totalling hundreds of megawatts (MW).

As AI workloads drive up compute density, power requirements and thermal complexity, 3C Datalec organises its capabilities into three pillars:

• Create – design and engineering
• Construct – liquid cooling, M&E, ODM manufacturing and connectivity installation
• Care – commissioning, operations, maintenance and facilities management

“Rack densities have outgrown air, and liquid cooling is no longer optional,” said Steve Walton, CEO of 3C Datalec. “At CoolIT, we spent years preparing for this moment and became a global leader in liquid cooling. The hard part now is making cooling, power, construction and operations work as one system, while running at scale. We’re combining our liquid cooling expertise with Datalec’s engineering, manufacturing and FM capabilities, so customers have one partner from design to operation.”

The industry is running short of skilled data centre engineers, so 3C Datalec is training its own. Team members have access to apprenticeships, technical training and career development programs through the company’s internal university, and will share in its success through the Leadership & Employee Equity Program (LEEP). The goal: build the next generation of liquid cooling and critical infrastructure specialists.

“Datalec has always been a people-first business. We’ve grown by building strong relationships, delivering for our customers and creating a culture that people want to be part of,” said Danny Keeper, Group Director & Co-Founder of Datalec. “Finding a partner in 3C that genuinely shares those values was extremely important to us. This partnership allows us to grow globally while protecting the culture and identity that have been at the heart of Datalec since day one.”

“Our customers have trusted Datalec with their most critical sites for more than a decade, and we earn that trust on every project,” added Stuart Richmond, Group Director & Co-Founder of Datalec. “Joining 3C means we can now offer liquid cooling at global scale, but our commitment doesn’t change: the same teams, the same contacts and the same focus on getting it right for every customer.”

“AI is rewriting the requirements for data centre infrastructure and liquid cooling sits at the centre of that shift” said Matthew Cunning, Director at Longbow Capital. “Steve helped build a category leader in liquid cooling and Datalec brings a proven delivery business with a loyal customer base. We’re backing 3C Datalec to become the partner of choice for AI-ready infrastructure.”

“The next phase of data centre investment will be shaped by both new development and the need to upgrade existing facilities for higher-density workloads,” said Bala Nagarajan, Managing Director at S2G Investments. “Datalec has built deep trust delivering complex projects in that environment, and 3C brings the experience and capabilities to extend those relationships into a broader set of services across the life of a facility.”

Datalec’s headquarters will remain in London, and its founding leadership team will continue in their executive roles within the enlarged group. Financial terms were not disclosed.