TEXT-S&P rates Federal Realty's notes 'BBB+'

July 17 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today assigned its 'BBB+'
rating to the $250 million 3.00% senior unsecured notes due Aug. 1, 2022 issued
by Federal Realty Investment Trust (Federal). Federal indicated that it intends
to use net proceeds from the offering to repay outstanding borrowings under its
revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes, which may include
funding potential property acquisitions or funding the company's redevelopment
pipeline. The company offered the notes at 98.743% of the principal amount and
the notes offer a yield to maturity of 3.147%.

The notes are subject to typical REIT bond covenants including limitations on
incurrence of debt such that total debt does not exceed 60% of total assets;
secured debt does not exceed 40% of total assets; and debt service coverage
will not be less than 1.5x. Further, these notes are subject to the
maintenance of unencumbered assets such that unencumbered total assets
(excluding unconsolidated investments) exceed unsecured debt by at least 150%.

Our 'BBB+' corporate credit rating and positive outlook on Federal reflect the
comparatively favorable mark-to-market rent prospects within Federal's
high-quality portfolio located in densely populated areas with attractive
demographics. Our ratings and outlook are unaffected by the company's recent
announcement that it plans to replace its chief financial officer effective
Aug. 15, 2012, as we don't believe the company's financial policies will
change as a result.

Federal's leases are below current market rents on average, which supports our
expectation for continued stable cash flow and solid debt coverage measures,
as the company demonstrated through the recent economic downturn. Federal's
maintenance of a very moderately leveraged balance sheet positions the company
to ably meet its capital needs for the next few years and pursue select
opportunistic investments. We believe Federal will pursue development such
that financial measures will remain at their current strong level through the
projects' phased build outs and that liquidity will remain adequate. For our
most recent credit analysis on Federal, see Summary: Federal Realty Investment
Trust, published April 27, 2012.

RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH

-- Industry Report Card: Improvements in Operating Fundamentals Bode Well
For North American REITs, May 4, 2012
-- Issuer Ranking: North American REITs And Real Estate Operating
Companies, Strongest To Weakest, April 30, 2012
-- Credit FAQ: How Standard & Poor's Applies Its Liquidity Descriptors
For Global Corporate Issuers To North American Real Estate Companies, Oct. 12,
2011
-- Methodology And Assumptions: Liquidity Descriptors For Global
Corporate Issuers, Sept. 8, 2011
-- Key Credit Factors: Global Criteria For Rating Real Estate Companies,
June 21, 2011

RATING LIST

Federal Realty Investment Trust Rating
Corporate credit BBB+/Positive/--

RATING ASSIGNED

Federal Realty Investment Trust Rating
$250 mil. 3.0% sr. notes due 2022 BBB+

Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on
the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com. All ratings affected
by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at
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