The restaurant group has been in talks with Freuds over the past few months regarding the appointment.
Freuds will work with Lotus PR, which continues to manage restaurant PR for the business.
The brief covers external comms, strategic counsel, issues and crisis management, digital amplification, proactive comms and new business opportunities for the group.
The Freuds team will be led by Livingston, who returns to the agency from Gordon Ramsay Holdings. Livingston left Freuds in 2013 to join Gordon Ramsay Group as brand and comms director.