ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA, February 9, 2005—Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income), The Monthly Dividend Company®, (NYSE:O) today announced that it has acquired a property portfolio of 24 stores, for approximately $67.3 million, leased to Rite Aid Corporation.

The Company acquired existing stores that are net-leased to Rite Aid with an average lease term of 14.2 years. The stores are, on average, approximately 12,800 leasable square feet situated on an average lot size of 1.48 acres and are located throughout eight states. The average purchase price for each property was $2.8 million. Realty Income plans to hold approximately $58 million in its core portfolio as long-term investments and will place approximately $9 million in its Crest Net Lease, Inc. subsidiary for future sales.

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE, PCX:RAD) is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with annual revenues of more than $16.6 billion. Rite Aid currently operates approximately 3,400 stores located in 28 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to filling prescriptions, Rite Aid offers over 24,000 other products including non-prescription medications, health and beauty aids, personal care items, cosmetics, convenience foods, greeting cards, seasonal merchandise and about 2,100 private-label items.

Commenting on the acquisition, Tom A. Lewis, Chief Executive Officer stated, “The addition to our property portfolio of these 24 properties leased to Rite Aid provides us with a substantial new tenant that is the third largest drug store retail chain in the U.S. With the rise in demand for prescription drugs that is anticipated, as the Baby Boomer generation ages, we believe that the long-term prospects for the drug store industry are positive. In addition, this immediately accretive acquisition further diversifies our real estate portfolio and provides us with increased lease revenue from which to pay dividends.”

Consistent with Realty Income’s disclosure policy, the Company does not disclose the lease rate on an individual tenant transaction. Lease rates, terms, and conditions are competitive in nature and are a major component of the Company’s new business development program. The Company believes the disclosure of individual rate negotiations would be damaging to its competitive position and its ability to complete new property acquisitions. As in the past, Realty Income will announce its blended lease rate and lease terms on a cumulative basis in the Company’s quarterly press release on operations.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are “forward-looking” statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, which may cause the Company’s actual future results to differ materially from expected results. These risks include, among others, general economic conditions, local real estate conditions, the availability of capital to finance planned growth, property acquisitions and the timing of these acquisitions, charges for property impairments, the outcome of any legal proceedings to which the Company is a party, and the profitability of the Company’s subsidiary, Crest Net Lease, as described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, such forward-looking statements should be regarded solely as reflections of the Company’s current operating plans and estimates. Actual operating results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date these statements were made.

Realty Income is The Monthly Dividend Company®, a New York Stock Exchange real estate company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. To date the Company has declared 415 consecutive monthly dividend payments throughout its 36-year operating history. The monthly income is supported by the cash flow from over 1,500 retail properties owned under long-term lease agreements with leading regional and national retail chains. The Company is an active buyer of net-leased retail properties nationwide.