Excel Trust, Inc. (NYSE: EXL) announced today that Moody's Investors Service has assigned an investment grade rating of (P)Baa3 to Excel Trust with a stable outlook.

According to Moody's press release, the (P)Baa3 rating reflects Excel Trust's high quality property portfolio, sound liquidity, and moderate leverage. Moody's noted that the Company's tenant base is diversified and benefits from a laddered lease expiration schedule. Additionally, Moody's stated that Excel Trust's management team has a long, successful operating history, in both the private and public markets.

Gary Sabin, CEO of Excel Trust, stated: "We are pleased with today's investment grade rating and believe it is a reflection of our commitment to buying high quality assets while maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet. We issued $100 million in unsecured private notes in October 2013 and we will continue to access the long-term, unsecured debt markets when appropriate."

Moody's Investors Service has assigned a (P)Baa3 rating to the senior unsecured shelf of Excel Trust, Inc. and Excel Trust, L.P., the operating partnership of Excel Trust, Inc., under which the Company may issue unsecured public debt in the future.

More information regarding Excel Trust's rating can be found on Moody's website at www.moodys.com

About Excel Trust

Excel Trust, Inc. is a retail focused REIT that primarily targets community and power centers, grocery anchored neighborhood centers and freestanding retail properties. The Company has elected to be treated as a REIT, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Excel Trust trades publicly on the NYSE under the symbol "EXL". For more information on Excel Trust, Inc., please visit www.exceltrust.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements include, but are not limited to, discussions related to the Company's credit rating, the performance of its business, its liquidity and capital resources and other non-historical statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. When used in this release, the words "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be considered in light of the risks referenced in the "Risk Factors" section included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Forward-looking statements apply only as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Excel Trust, Inc.
Matt Romney, SVP, Capital Markets
858-613-1800
info@exceltrust.com