The private market assets platform Yieldstreet struck a deal to recoup some of its legal expenses for an ill-fated series of marine loans — but its customers are less fortunate.

Yieldstreet is getting $5 million in a settlement with the borrowers who defaulted on the marine loans, the startup told customers last week in letters obtained by CNBC.

But since the company’s recovery cost “well exceeds the entire settlement amount,” it’s unlikely investors will see any repayment, Yieldstreet said. The deals are being closed and financial statements showing losses will be filed by February, the company said.

“We recognize this outcome is disappointing,” Yieldstreet said in the investor letter. “Yieldstreet pursued this extensive recovery effort because we are committed to exhausting every reasonable avenue for investor recovery.”

Yieldstreet put its investors into deals totaling $89 million in loans that were supposed to be backed by 13 ships, according to a lawsuit filed by the startup against the borrower in that project. The loans float money to companies that take apart ships for scrap metal; the vessels themselves are the collateral on the deals.

Yieldstreet lost track of the ships and then pursued the borrower, which it accused of fraud. While it won monetary awards in a number of jurisdictions outside the U.S., the borrower avoided paying the startup by concealing their assets, Yieldstreet said in the August investor letter.

The episode garnered media coverage and in 2020 contributed to the collapse of a high-profile partnership with BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager.

The news of this latest loss follows CNBC’s report last month that Yieldstreet customers in four real estate deals worth $78 million have been wiped out, with roughly $300 million of other deals on watchlist for possible losses.

This year, Yieldstreet changed its CEO and announced a new business model that leans more on distributing private market funds provided by established Wall Street firms including Goldman Sachs and the Carlyle Group.

In a statement provided to CNBC, Yieldstreet said the investor letters refer to marine loan deals from 2018 and 2019 in an asset class that the firm no longer offers.

“While substantially less than the amounts invested by the funds and ultimately the investors, this settlement allows us to bring closure to litigation that could otherwise continue indefinitely,” Yieldstreet said in the statement.

The firm “takes its fiduciary responsibilities seriously and, throughout the recovery effort, advanced its own funds in an effort to protect its investors and has absorbed significant losses alongside its investors,” the startup said.

Arman, an investor who plowed $180,000 into marine loans in 2019, called the result a bitter disappointment. After receiving $16,000 from Yieldstreet in a class action settlement tied to the soured marine deals, he estimates that he lost more than 90% of his original investment.

CNBC is withholding Arman’s last name from publication at his request.

“My mother passed away in 2018, and I didn’t know where to put the money,” Arman said. “I thought this was somewhere safe to put it, and it wasn’t.”

The Yieldstreet marine loan deal was supposed to mature in six months, a relatively short-term investment.

Instead, it stretched into a six-year saga for Arman, who works as a firefighter and paramedic near the West Coast.

“They are now washing their hands of the whole thing,” he said. “They are taking $5 million to cover their own expenses, with no regard for investors.”

As Starbucks revamps its U.S. locations, the coffee chain is trying to make its cafes welcoming to all through more inclusive design.

As part of its broader effort to bring back customers, the company has prioritized plans to give makeovers to roughly 1,000 locations by the end of 2026. It will sideline major store renovations and development in the meantime.

While the changes will vary based on the location, expect more seating, dark wood paneling and other tweaks that make its cafes cozier. The renovations will also include changes like less harsh lighting that won’t affect customers with light sensitivity.

“We’re uplifting more than 1,000 coffeehouses over the next year, blending our global heritage with local relevance to create spaces that are immersive, inclusive, and deeply human,” Dawn Clark, Starbucks senior vice president of coffeehouse design and concepts, said in a statement to CNBC.

“Whether it’s the laid-back warmth of the Palisades or the urban energy of Manhattan, intentional design encourages customers to stay longer, connect more, and return often — and translates into meaningful business impact,” Clark said.

Starbucks is planning to spend about $150,000 on each “uplift,” without closing the stores down. The company started with locations in New York, followed by cafes in Southern California.

The makeovers are intended to make the stores more welcoming, returning Starbucks to its prior status as a “third place” for customers to hang out between home and work. In recent years, Starbucks had lost that reputation, fueled by decisions like removing seats as mobile ordering become popular and getting rid of outlets to discourage lingering.

Under CEO Brian Niccol, the chain plans to reverse many of those decisions as it tries to break a sales slump. For example, he previously told employees in June that he plans to add back the 30,000 seats that had been removed from cafes.

But trying to appeal to a wider swath of customers isn’t new for the company. Starbucks first unveiled an accessible store design in early 2024, before Niccol’s tenure. At the time, the company said that the design took about two years and included input from baristas.

Take a look inside a recently renovated New York City cafe near Manhattan’s Union Square.

Before the renovation, the location lacked many decorative touches, besides some large-scale photos of the chain’s Hacienda Alsacia, its coffee and research farm in Costa Rica.

With such sparse seating, the cafe’s concrete floors were more obvious. Harsh lighting didn’t help the store’s appearance either.

The location now features much more seating near the entrance. Leather accents to the wraparound booth make the seats more comfortable. The tables are easily movable and at an accessible height for wheelchair users.

Starbucks also brought back the electrical outlets that disappeared in prior makeovers. Now customers who want to study or work from the location can charge their laptops or phones, encouraging them to stay longer.

Large area rugs bring a cozy touch, in addition to dampening some of the cafe’s ambient noise. Live plants also add to the homey vibe of the space.

High-top tables, positioned closer to the barista bar, offer a seating option for customers looking to sit down with companions. The makeover adds 16 more seats to the location.

Starbucks also changed out its lightbulbs to soften the store’s lighting and reduce glare, giving it a warmer atmosphere. The improved lighting helps highlight an existing mural, seen on the right of the photo above.

Behind the barista bar, the company added a large shelving unit that highlights bags of its coffee, plus decorative burlap sacks that hold beans. Touches of purple are a nod to the nearby New York University.

Customers waiting to pick up their drinks can sit off to the side. Previously, the area was a standing bar that wasn’t accessible to wheelchair users.

In addition to adding rugs, Starbucks also improved the location’s overall insulation to cut down on the clamor of a busy coffee shop. For baristas, the change means that conversations among customers are less likely to disturb their work, whether that’s hearing an order correctly or focusing on making a latte.